


There's Something In The Water (Out Of The Blue)

by Dont_Stop_Larry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Come Eating, Come Swallowing, Dom/sub Undertones, First Times, Hand Jobs, Lottie and Niall are there too, M/M, Mermaid to Human, Mermaid!Harry, Pain Kink, Soulmates, Tattoos, fluff fluff fluff fluff, harry is 18, harry's hair is long and beautiful, human!Louis, light fem!Harry, louis is 20, niall is such a good friend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-09
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-05-25 17:41:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 51,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6204628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dont_Stop_Larry/pseuds/Dont_Stop_Larry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Lou, do you believe in mermaids? Like...I want honesty here. Do you think they are real?”</p><p>“Well, all science that I've looked at says that they don't exist, but there are some things I've heard about that scientists cannot explain, some weird skeletons found in shipwrecks and stuff. So really, no one knows...I guess they could be real, but I'm not sure if I believe in them.”</p><p>“Lou, use your brain! What I'm trying to say is maybe there's a merman out there for you! You don't think I've noticed that you don't make any connections with any of the boys you bring home? There's no light in your eyes, there's no blush to your cheeks, nothing that would indicate any sort of love. And maybe this is why. Maybe your true love lives in the water!”</p><p>	“Well...I thank you for being so optimistic about my love life, but if there is a man out there for me that is my true love, I doubt he is swimming around in the ocean with fins instead of feet.”</p><p>***</p><p>Or the AU where Louis' sister believes in mermaids and swears she saw one, but Louis doesn't believe her. Turns out that his true love might just be out there in the water, but is he willing to find out?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I've been sitting on this idea for ages, and I finally decided to start it (plus I had a few friends nagging me to just start it already)
> 
> This is an AU, Louis is 20 and Harry is 18. Lottie is Louis' only sibling and she is 11, so there is a ten year difference between Louis and Lottie, which does not reflect real life.
> 
> Harry is a mermaid, and all of the things you read about mermaids in this story are a combination of several different lores and just a bit of my own invention.
> 
> I know that not many people are into this kind of AU, but I said what the hell and wrote it anyway, so I hope you guys like it.
> 
> Chapters are going to be between 10k and 15k words each, and I don't know how often I'll update because I'm in school, but I'll try to make it no later than every two weeks, so bear with me.
> 
> Big big big thank you to @LavenderHarryyy on twitter for helping me brainstorm ideas and for doing a bit of spot editing on this, and for her constant support in my idea. She's fabulous and you should definitely check out her stuff if you want some good reading material. Her ao3 is @Noelle1224
> 
> Thank you guys for reading, and I can't want to hear what you think about this story. All the love xx
> 
> Liz

The boat docked with a little thump as the anchor was dropped into the water and I sat straight up in bed, rubbing my eyes and grabbing my phone. Niall, my best friend, was already awake, his eyes shining with the prospect of being on land. Lottie was already scurrying up the stairs from her room, her sundress on backwards and her shoes in her hands.

“C'mon, Lou! I'm ready to get the fuck off this boat,” Niall muttered, standing up and stretching as I pulled on shorts and a t-shirt over my boxers.

“I heard that, Mr. Horan. Language!” My mum called from the deck, and Niall groaned.

“How did she even hear me?”

“I don't know, mate. Bionic hearing, I swear,” I mumbled back, chuckling and grabbing my bag before being dragged up the stairs by Niall.

We emerged onto the deck and looked out on a beautiful beach, the water a nice steely blue and sets of cliffs dotting the beach. Little islands were scattered throughout the water, some almost out of sight and some rather close. The sky was bright blue and the sun was beating down on the water, making it sparkle. The air smelled like salt, but in a good way, not in the terrible way that fishing districts always smelled, and I would know, having been to my fair share of those on our travels.

“Being on the boat all the time can get cramped...but this right here is the reason why I agreed to come on this trip with you,” Niall said, clapping me on the back and hurrying off to help my parents tie the boat to the dock. I just stood by the port side, looking out over the water.

My parents had always wanted to travel by boat, and having two kids hadn't stopped them from living their dream. They both owned fairly well off businesses back home and operated them online when they decided it was time to hit the water again. Both me and my sister Lottie were home schooled, and I had just graduated from high school, so this was something like my treat for doing so well. I had been at sea with them plenty of times, but it had always been work related, and I only had my younger sister to talk to. This time, however, it was more of a vacation, visiting beaches and little coves and such, and I was allowed to bring Niall.

Niall actually owed his life to me basically, after I saved his life when we were twelve. I had been looking for shells and he had been cliff diving, and he had hit his head, but none of his friends seemed to notice or even care. I had gone out to save him and got him to a hospital, and we had been best friends ever since. Kind of a weird meeting, but it worked out well for us, and it meant that I actually had a friend. Being gone a lot of the time didn't leave me a lot of time to make actual friends, other than Niall. Niall had plenty of friends, but according to him, I was his best friend, and I considered him mine, so there really had been no other choice when I had invited him on this trip. Even if he used our stops to try to pick up girls, I didn't mind.

“Louis, can you grab that tarp?” my step-dad called to me, and I nodded, picking it up and slinging my bag over my shoulder. My mom had been remarried, but I had never known my real dad, so I considered Mark to be my dad. I walked over and handed him the tarp, and then jumped on to the dock and sighed. It was so good to be on solid ground again. I loved the water, but sometimes you just missed standing still instead of swaying back and forth all the time.

“Lou, you can't just walk around without shoes, you'll hurt your feet!” my mum called after me, but I ignored her. I was just going to the beach anyway, there was no use getting my Vans all sandy. Lottie ran up next to me and Niall, a whole bag of sand toys over her shoulder and her hair up in a high ponytail and her smile wide.

“Have enough toys, there, Lots?” Niall asked sarcastically, and Lottie stuck her tongue out at him, skipping ahead and heading for the stairs that lead to the beach. Niall whistled and I turned my head to see a group of girls in bikinis laying out in the sun. I rolled my eyes and punched Niall on the arm.

“Don't start, Ni. We're only here for a week, you have no time for that.”

“Don't underestimate my capability to get a girl in under a week...I have my ways, sir.”

“Sure you do,” I laughed, walking down the stairs and following Lottie's footprints to a nice spot on the beach.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out. It was a text from my mum, telling me to meet back at the docks at 6 with good clothes on, because we were going out to eat. I relayed the message to the other two and they waved me off. Niall had already stripped off his shirt and headed for the water.

“Ni, you don't want to put sunscreen on?” I called after him, and he laughed.

“I'll be just fine, don't you worry about me, Tommo.”

I looked at Lottie, who was watching me and Niall with an amused expression, and we both muttered under our breath, “Gonna get sunburned...” and then laughed. The fact that we were almost ten years apart in age did not stop the Tommo sass from coming out in both of us.

“Don't you laugh at me, wankers!” Niall came sprinting out of the water, soaking wet and charging straight for me. I didn't see the point in running for it, so I just let him tackle me, the cold water seeping through my clothes and making the sand stick to me. I wrestled him for a few minutes and finally got him off of me, both of us panting and grinning like idiots.

“Boys are so weird...” Lottie complained, trying to build up her sand castle as best she could. I stood up and got my shirt off, opting to stay in my shorts in case Niall went for my pants next.

“Want some help with that, Lots?” Niall asked, softly, crawling over to her and brushing his bleach blonde hair out of his face. Niall had always had a soft spot for Lottie, ever since she had visited him in the hospital and asked if he was Peter Pan, which made sense at the time because he'd had reddish brown hair (his choice on the hair dye, not mine). It was kind of ironic, seeing as Niall had been calling me Peter Pan ever since, but back then it had been Lottie's favorite movie, and Niall had wanted to make her happy, so he had told her yes, he was Peter Pan, and they'd had a good old time watching the movie in Niall's hospital bed.

“Yeah, Ni, please. I can't get it to stay up...” She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout and Niall went about helping her out. I pulled out a towel and lay face down on it, trying to soak up some of the sun and just relax. Even though I had slept most of the way to here, I was still exhausted for some reason, and the sun felt nice and warm on my back.

An hour or so later, Niall and Lottie had created a masterpiece of a sandcastle and now wanted to look for shells for Lottie's collection, so we packed up and started walking along the beach, letting our feet get wet as the waves came in, bringing tons of new shells for Lottie to choose from. She got ahead of us as we stopped to help a little old man with directions to the docks (which, luckily for us, was the one place we knew how to get to from here), but only a moment after the old man had thanked us and walked off, Lottie came sprinting up the beach, her hair flying out of her ponytail and her face alight with joy and fascination.

“Lou! Lou, I saw a mermaid!!!” she shrieked, and Niall and I eyed one another. Lottie was always living the Disney way, believing in anything those movies said, and mermaids were her favorite next to Peter Pan, so this wasn't uncommon. But her face was one of sincerity, more so than it had ever been before, which was making me curious as to what she really saw.

“Where was it, Lots?” I asked, trying to sound as interested as I could without laughing. She was just so adorable, and the way she let her imagination run wild was my favorite thing about her, but I didn't want her to think that I wasn't taking her seriously, because she would get upset and I'd get hell for it later.

“C'mon, I'll show you!” She grabbed my hand and started dragging me across the sand, Niall right behind us, his hand over his mouth as he tried to cover up his sniggers. He always said that I was way too taken by my sister, always wanting to please her, but he had no room to complain. He would do anything for her if she just asked and batted her lashes.

She stopped at a spot right near some cliffs and pointed out a rock not too far out, that was surrounded by a nice rosy light from the sun and a fair amount of underwater plants that were attached to the rocky surfaces, growing in what I could only assume were various colors. I loved plant life, especially underwater plants. They were always so beautiful, and Lottie knew that she had hooked me on that one. “It was right there, just behind the rock. Seemed to be watching us walk, but as soon as I called out to it, it swam away.”

“How can you be sure it was a mermaid, Lots?” Niall asked, curiously, kneeling down and trying to get a look at the place where Lottie was pointing from her point of view.

“Because before it swam away, its tail was a little bit above the water. Really pretty, shimmering green and pink and a bit of purple. And when it swam away, it flipped out of the water a bit.”

“Hmm...” I muttered to myself, trying to seem interested, but I was paying more attention to a small collection of bright purple flowers growing in a small hole of water...they almost looked like salt water lilies, which were my favorite flower, and I really wanted to grab one for my aquarium back on the boat.

“Lou, are you even listening?” Lottie poked my leg impatiently and I jumped, turning my face to her apologetically.

“Yeah, definitely. Pretty shimmery tail, left when you called. Yes, I heard it all, love.”

“You don't believe me, do you?” She said fiercely, crossing her arms, and I shook my head furiously.

“No, no, of course I do, love. I just...I saw the water lilies, I'm sorry.” I muttered, and Lottie's smile returned as she hurried over to the small pool and plucked one, handing it to me.

“Here you go! All set. Can we talk about the mermaid now?” I nodded with a smile and she started rambling. “Well, I know what I saw, that's for sure, but I think it might have been a merman. I didn't see any shells, but whichever gender it was, its hair was so pretty. Brown curls, I think, but it looked like there were other colors. Couldn't make out much else, but maybe it will come back if we wait!”

“Umm...We are actually gonna be late for dinner if we don't hurry,” Niall said, checking his phone, and Lottie's pout came right back.

“But what if it comes back and we aren't here? It might think we abandoned it.” Her voice sounded sad and worried, and even though I didn't want her to get too convinced of what she had seen, I didn't want her to be sad either.

“We can come back tomorrow and see, okay?” I said softly, and she hesitated before nodding, hanging her head.

“Okay...but you have to promise to bring me back here, Lou.”

“I promise, Lots. And so does Niall. We need to go now. C'mon, I'll carry you.” I lifted Lottie onto my back and Niall and I trudged back up the beach, listening to Lottie talk our ears off about the mermaid. We both knew that there was no such thing as mermaids, but the way she was talking was making me curious...it obviously hadn't been a mermaid, so what was it? Some exotic animal that only lived here? A new species of fish or eel? One thing was for sure...I had to find out.

 

***

The next few days were extremely busy for all of us. My parents had a lot of things planned, and whether we liked it or not, the three of us were dragged on most of them. We still had our hours in the afternoons and sometimes evenings to be on the beach and swim, but I hadn't been able to take Lottie back to that spot. The only reminder I had of it even happening was the beautiful purple water lily in my tank next to my bed. If that hadn't been there, I would have been convinced that the whole thing was a dream, because Lottie didn't bring it up.

The sun was high in the sky two days before we were due to leave, and I was just sitting on the edge of the docks, letting my toes brush into the water. My skin was dark against the white of my t-shirt, the result of having been out in the sun for most of the week, and I just felt relaxed. I hadn't had any time to myself yet on this part of the trip, and it was nice to just sit there and appreciate the ocean.

Niall had gone off that morning down into town, and I was sure that he was probably trying to pick up some girl at a restaurant by using his Irish charm and god knows what else. Whatever his methods were, they worked in his favor a lot of the time. I, on the other hand, had always had trouble finding someone that I liked. Might have had something to do with the fact that I was gay, but maybe it was just me in general. When you traveled around like this, you met mostly tourists, which consisted mainly of high school and college girls on trips with their friends or their boyfriends, and though Niall fit in quite well, I had always been rather shy with new people. Around Niall and Lottie and my parents, I was completely flamboyant and crazy, but the moment I got in a group of people, I froze and had no idea what to do.

A wet hand landed on my shoulder and I jumped about a foot, almost falling into the water, but it was just Lottie. Her nose was burnt a little but other than that, she just looked like she always did...a spitting image of our mum. I patted the wooden dock next to me and Lottie took a seat, her legs dangling a good six inches above the water.

“Niall's just gone and embarrassed himself...well, I guess mum kind of helped, but he's moping back on the boat.” Lottie started, but it seemed like that wasn't why she had come out here. My parents treated Niall like a son, so they weren't past embarrassing him if he was on a date, and Lottie and I both knew that.

“He'll be fine in an hour or so...so why are you really out here, hmm?” I asked, swinging an arm around her shoulders.

“Lou, do you believe in mermaids? Like...I want honesty here. Do you think they are real?”

I sighed, thinking that I should have known it had something to do with mermaids. I didn't want to lie and say yes, but I also didn't want to hurt her or ruin her imagination that the creatures could be real, at least, in her mind.

“Well, all science that I've looked at says that they don't exist, but there are some things I've heard about that scientists cannot explain, some weird skeletons found in shipwrecks and stuff. So really, no one knows...I guess they could be real, but I'm not sure if I believe in them.” I said slowly, trying to word things as best as I could so that I wouldn't make her cry. Lottie bit her lip.

“I mean...that makes sense, but...I know what I saw. It couldn't have been anything else, and I know that you're at least a little curious. I could tell by the way you were looking at the rock when we left the beach that day.”

I didn't say anything to that. What was I supposed to tell her? That what she had seen was real and that we would go find it and bring back proof? I couldn't just say that to her when, deep down, I knew that what she had seen was definitely not a mermaid or anything like that.

“You know, there might be mermen too...I'm pretty sure that's what I saw, anyway. No shells for the...you know...” Lottie continued, but I wasn't sure what she was trying to get at with that, so I just looked at her with a confused expression until she threw her hands up in frustration.

“Lou, use your brain! What I'm trying to say is maybe there's a merman out there for you! You don't think I've noticed that you don't make any connections with any of the boys you bring home? There's no light in your eyes, there's no blush to your cheeks, nothing that would indicate any sort of love. And maybe this is why. Maybe your true love lives in the water!”

“The boys I bring home are nice, Lots, you know that.” I said back, unsure of what else to say, but she shook her head.

“They aren't for you. You don't love them. Everyone has a true love, Lou, and even the ones you've called your boyfriends have never made you smile like you should when you're with your true love.”

“Lottie...I know this is gonna be a bit disappointing, but there is no such thing as true love. Just people who get lucky.”

Lottie shook her head furiously, now almost glaring at me. “True love is definitely real...look at mum and Mark! They love each other. They have the looks and the smiles and mum even blushes sometimes. That's true love. True love is so painfully obvious when people actually have it. The connection is just there, it's almost like a sort of glow around the person. I know I'm just a kid and according to adults, can't possibly understand what it's like to be in love, but I know what love looks like...and I think yours is out there, Lou. You just have to look in the right place.”

“Well...I thank you for being so optimistic about my love life, but if there is a man out there for me that is my true love, I doubt he is swimming around in the ocean with fins instead of feet.”

Lottie huffed and stood up, brushing the sand from the dock off her dress. “Fine. Don't believe me. But when you meet your mermaid boyfriend, I'm really going to enjoy saying I told you so.” With that, she stomped off back towards the boat. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, making it stick up even more than usual, and stood up. I needed to go do something, go get my mind off of everything Lottie had just said. I pretended like I didn't care about being with anyone or having a serious boyfriend, but in reality, I wanted it. I wanted someone more than I ever thought I would. It was just the thought of having a boy who would cuddle me when I was sleepy or would kiss me when I wanted, hell, just someone to be there for me when I was feeling insecure or scared, because I loved Niall, but he was such a happy person that he never really got sad...never really understood what it was like to be lonely but also scared of making friends. That thought alone made me sad, and I didn't want to spend any of this vacation sad.

I walked back to the boat, where I earned a glare from my sister, but I ignored it and walked below decks to find Niall on his bed, texting away.

“Hey, Ni. How was the date?” I asked, smirking, and Niall groaned, burying his face in a pillow and speaking in a muffled voice.

“Your...mother...she embarrassed the fuck out of me. I don't...I can't even talk about it.”

“Being a bit dramatic, aren't we?” I asked as I pulled out my wetsuit and turned away from Niall, stripping down to nothing and pulling it on. I didn't get an answer, so I pulled my wetsuit all the way up and prodded him on the back of the head.

“Ow, what the...”

“Come cliff jumping with me.”

It was an on the whim decision, but I needed to clear my head and jumping off rocks into the ocean seemed like a great plan. Niall sat up and looked at me, his eyebrows raised.

“Lou, you realize who you're asking, right?”

“Ni, I just need a spotter, that's all. I don't want you to jump unless you want to. But I need to clear my head...come with me, please?”

He hesitated for a moment, but then crawled out of bed and pulled on his own wetsuit, looking resigned. “Alright, alright, I'll come with you, but I'm sure as hell not jumping.”

I smiled and clapped him on the shoulder, heading back up into the sunlight.

Fifteen minutes later, Niall and I were standing at the spot where Lottie had first spotted her mermaid...merman...whatever, and Niall was staring at the cliff, looking nervous.

“Ni, mate, you don't have to go up there. Just stay here, take my phone, and maybe take some pics. I'll go up by myself, it's not a big deal.”

“Thanks, Lou...” Niall muttered, and I handed him my phone before heading up the rocky path to the top. I felt kind of bad that I had made Niall feel nervous, because that hadn't been my intention. I had just needed my best friend with me.

I reached the top in about three minutes and I settled on a rock, looking over the edge and down at the water below. It wasn't too much of a drop, not to me anyway, but as I was backing up to jump, Niall having just given me the okay with his phone raised, I spotted something. Something very shiny, and oddly similar to what Lottie had described seeing the other day, swimming through the seaweed. I shook myself...I was just seeing things, after that whole long talk with Lottie and me having a merman for a true love or soulmate or whatever other shit she had been talking. I just needed to jump...it would help clear my head and then I wouldn't be going insane.

“C'mon, Lou!” Niall's voice came echoing up the cliff, and I didn't hesitate a moment longer. I backed up a few steps and leaped off the cliff. I yelled as I plummeted for the water, but even though I hit hard, it felt amazing! The cool water soothed my hot skin and my head felt more clear than it had in a long time. I pushed myself towards the surface, making sure I didn't get tangled in the seaweed, and my face broke the surface. I could hear Niall shouting from the beach, but there was a rock right next to me, so I pulled myself up onto it, shaking my wet hair out of my eyes and grinning like mad.

“That was fucking awesome!” I called to him, and he smiled, waving at me with excitement. I crawled up further onto the rock, leaning back and letting the sun beat down on my chest. In this light, the few tattoos I had scattered on my arm looked particularly dark, and I wondered vaguely if I should get another one...something nautical, for this trip. Maybe I'd get a rope or an anchor or something cool.

Niall was waving at me like crazy, and I caught it out of the corner of my eye, looking up. Niall didn't look remotely happy anymore, on the contrary, he looked almost scared. He was pointing and waving and I just stared at him in confusion, not having any idea what he was trying to tell me. I hoisted myself further up still on the rock, trying to figure out what Niall was saying. I looked down to get my foot in a good hold and promptly found myself staring into a pair of bright green eyes framed by wet brown curls. I squeaked in shock and fear and fell backwards right into the ocean. I came up spluttering and swam swiftly around the entire rock until I was facing the beach again, but there was no one there. I swam as quickly as I could back to shore, stumbling onto the dry sand and towards Niall, who was looking from the rock to me in panic.

“Did...did you see...” I gasped, clutching onto Niall and trying to breathe properly, glancing back out at the rock. He nodded, gripping my shoulder tightly.

“That's what I was trying to tell you. Whatever Lottie saw yesterday was there, I saw the colors...I thought she was just seeing things, but...like...”

“No, no, I believe you! When I was up on the cliff I saw...I saw something flashy...and just now...holy fucking hell...”

Niall waited until I caught my breath, still trying to get a glimpse of the rock and whatever the hell had been out there.

“Niall, it was human... I'm pretty sure, but I didn't get a good enough look...all I saw was green eyes and brown hair before I fell...what the fuck?”

Niall just shook his head, running hands through his hair. “We aren't crazy, are we?”

I shook my head. I know what I had just seen was real, but...what was it? Who was it? Was I actually hallucinating because of the sun?

“Let's get out of here...” I muttered, and Niall didn't even hesitate, sprinting off down the beach and towards the docks. I started to follow him, but against my better judgment, looked over my shoulder. There was a flash of something green and I whipped my head back around, following Niall at a run.

 

***

 

I didn't sleep at all that night. Niall and I didn't talk any more about what we might have seen, not even to Lottie, who would have been the only one likely to believe us. Even my parents noticed that we were being unusually quiet, but they didn't comment on it...guess they figured that we were just tired from the day. I lay in my bed all night, staring at the ceiling and thinking of nothing other than the eyes that I had seen earlier. I couldn't get their vibrant green out of my head, and even though I was halfway convinced that I had imagined it, I still couldn't forget it. I didn't know what to make of this information, and we were leaving in two days, which didn't give me much time to figure it out. By the time early morning had come and light had started to filter down through the window covering the stairs, I had made my decision. I was going back today, by myself, to sort this out. I needed to make 100% sure that I had been dreaming or, for some strange reason, I had actually seen something. I didn't even wait for Niall or Lottie or even my parents to get up. I slipped out of bed, pulled on my wetsuit, and headed out into the humid morning air. The sun was just over the horizon and casting a rosy glow over everything. I had to stop for a second and admire the beauty before I hopped onto the dock and trotted for the stairs, brushing my still sandy hair out of my face and jogging lightly down the beach. When I reached the place, I stopped to catch my breath, looking out over the water towards the rock. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The water plants were swaying gently in the water and the water was relatively still today. The rock looked like just that...a rock. The only thing I noticed, however, was that all of the water lilies that had been in the small pool on our first day were gone, and I wasn't sure what to make of that.

The only way I could completely clear my mind, however, was if I swam out there and checked every inch of the water around the rock and where I had jumped. I walked quickly into the water, trying to ignore how cool it was through my wetsuit. The sun hadn't quite risen enough to heat the water up a bit, but I didn't mind the cold. It actually felt good, and it made my mind a bit clearer. I swam slowly through the water, ducking under every now and then to see if there was anything under the water that was out of the ordinary, but I saw nothing. I sighed, feeling a bit tired, and climbed onto the rock, thinking about watching the sun rise for a little bit. I hoisted myself up to a good spot for sitting and curled my knees to my chest, just watching it and thinking about going home in a few days.

“It's beautiful, isn't it?”

My heart jumped into my throat and I looked to my left, where the voice had come from. My eyes widened and I almost jumped for it, but my whole body was frozen with fear. The figure shrank back a bit, looking scared.

“M'sorry...didn't mean to scare you...”

It took me a few seconds to realize that I wasn't dreaming; I even pinched myself to make sure, and after I made that realization, all I could do was stare.

Before me was the most beautiful boy I had ever laid eyes on in my life. His face, while appearing manly, still had boyish chubby cheeks. His eyes were a piercing green and his face was mostly covered by dark brown curls. Other colors were mixed in with his hair, some green, some blue, and even some purple and pink streaks were visible, and it was long enough to almost cover his nipples. His bottom lip, which was pink and plump, was trapped under his teeth as he nibbled on it nervously, and he was half submerged in the water, most of his chest above the surface.

“Uh...wh-who...what...umm...sorry, I...” I stuttered, blushing furiously and scratching the back of my neck. Wow, this boy was...wow. He was gorgeous, and I felt so awkward staring at him, but I couldn't stop.

“You aren't mad at me, are you? For interrupting your 'you time'? I'm really sorry, I can go...” The boy looked embarrassed, and turned away, but Louis finally found his voice.

“Wait...don't go, please.”

The boy turned back, a smile on his face, and Louis could see deep dimples in his cheeks. My stomach was positively filled to the brim with butterflies and I couldn't control the racing of my heart.

“I...you were watching me yesterday?” I phrased it a bit like a question, not knowing what else to say, and the boy nodded, his wet curls dripping water.

“Yeah, I just...I saw you on the beach a few days before and I wondered if you would come back cause you...umm, you're really pretty.” The boy blushed, which only made him cuter, in my opinion, and I knew that I was blushing. No one had ever called me pretty before, at least, not in a nice way.

“Well...I'm here, I guess. I'm Louis, by the way...” I said slowly, hoping I would at least get that out of him, and he smiled at that, moving back closer to me. His body moved in a strange way through the water, but I didn't have time to think about that right now. I just wanted to know who I was talking to.

“M'Harry.” His voice came out in a tentative whisper, and he looked self-conscious, brushing his hair behind his ear nervously.

“Well, Harry, nice to meet you. I...I have to admit, no one has ever called me pretty before...I'm flattered.” I said, trying to keep my voice even but probably failing. I was so intrigued by Harry that I couldn't even hear myself speak.

“I'm only telling you the truth, cause you are. Pretty, I mean...ah, shit, I suck at talking to real people...I should just go...”

“Wait, no! I don't want you to go...I...I mean...” Wow, I was really shit at talking to boys...maybe this was why I didn't have a boyfriend. But some of his words had confused me...had let a certain possibility into my head that I had been trying to avoid ever since I had seen Harry yesterday. But I had to ask, and the words came spilling out of my mouth before I had a chance to form a nicely phrased question. “Are you a merman?”

Harry laughed, and I was pretty sure my heart skipped a beat when I heard it. It was a loud bark of a laugh, but in a high pitched manner that included quite a few giggles. Harry slapped a hand over his mouth in embarrassment, and took a moment to calm down before answering me.

“Right to the point, you are. Yeah, I...I am a mermaid. Males and females are just called one thing...makes us all kind of neutral so that we aren't doing the whole _'men are better than women'_ thing that you humans do...not that it's a bad thing, but it's just different with us and I'm rambling again...”

“But...but you can't be...mermaids don't exist...they aren't real...” I stuttered, shaking my head and backing a bit away from Harry. He was obviously crazy and I really should just jump in the water and swim away right now, but I couldn't.

Harry moved strangely for a moment and then there was a bright flash that made me raise a hand quickly to shield my eyes. Once the glare was gone, I opened one eye and almost passed out right there. Harry did not have legs at all. His torso was grafted smoothly to a long shimmering tail in shades of green, pink, and purple, the sun rippling off the scales in a beautiful way. I wasn't sure what to say...I couldn't find any words.

“This look fake to you?” Harry asked, and I know he was trying to make a joke of it, but I couldn't help feeling that he was hurt at my comment of him not being real. Because I had been very wrong...he was right here in front of me...this was definitely real, and my brain was on overdrive just trying to comprehend what I was seeing. It wasn't helping either that Harry had a gorgeous chest, strong and muscular but with just a little bit of tummy pudge that accentuated his beautiful curves, if mermaids could have curves.

“It's beautiful...” were the first words that decided to come out of my mouth, and I immediately wanted to disappear...wow, I was so embarrassing.

“Thank you very much, Lou...can I call you Lou?” Harry asked timidly, and I nodded, unable to form other words. We stared at each other for a few more seconds, Harry looking at me curiously and me just blatantly checking him out.

“So...umm...what are you doing out here this early?” Harry asked finally, and I jolted out of my trance that his eyes had gotten me into.

“Umm...I was coming out here to...to make sure that yesterday wasn't a complete hallucination,” I mumbled, and Harry giggled, covering his mouth again. He was honestly so adorable and I couldn't get past that thought. I wanted to touch his hair and play with his curls, I wanted to caress his cheek, and there was definitely a thought or two about making out with him, and all of those things scared me. Never in my life had I felt like this right after meeting someone...maybe Lottie had been right. At that thought, I panicked and tried to back away from Harry, which resulted in me falling backwards off the rock and into the water, the cold shocking me. I felt a strong arm go around my waist and I spluttered as I came to the surface, wiping my eyes and breathing hard in shock. I opened my eyes and found myself dangerously close to Harry. I could feel his tail moving powerfully in the water, keeping us both afloat, and his hair was almost touching my cheekbones.

“You alright, Lou?” He asked, sounding genuinely concerned, his eyes wide and staring, waiting for my answer. The urge to kiss him, which had been subtle before, was almost overpowering at this point, and I swallowed hard, trying to find my voice again.

“I...yeah...fine...umm...” I managed, and Harry's arm disappeared from my waist, leaving my entire body tingling in its wake. I pulled myself back onto the rock and Harry placed his arms on the rock, holding himself out of the water. His tail fins bobbed out of the water, lazily moving back and forth.

“I...can I...touch your...” I said shakily, not sure if I actually wanted to, but I wanted to know what it felt like. Harry looked unsurprised and a bit nervous, but he brought his tail out of the water and draped it carefully over the rock, looking at me. I tried to ignore how bright and curious his eyes were, and reached down with a shaking hand, placing it palm down on Harry's tail.

It wasn't anything like I thought it would be. Sure, it was wet from the water, but the scales were smooth, changing color with the reflection of the sun and all interlocked with precision. I rubbed my hand on the scales a bit, feeling the muscles of his tail ripple under my fingertips and watching as the scales sparkled. I looked over at Harry and saw that his eyes were half closed and his lips were slightly parted, almost like a kitten when you pet them. He looked like he was in heaven. I stopped my hand and his eyes opened again, looking innocently at me through his curtain of hair.

“It's nice...really shiny...” I said stupidly, and Harry giggled.

“Yeah, I'd like to think so. Most mermaids only get a solid colored tail, but I got all of these colors. Not sure why, but I kind of like being a bit different. Please...please don't stop umm...doing that...it feels nice...” He added, looking pointedly at my hand, and I continued to move my hand back and forth. Harry hummed happily, and then seemed to realize that he wasn't talking, because he gasped and looked up at me in excitement and fascination.

“I wanna know about you, Lou. I want you to tell me everything about you.”

I laughed a little at his giddiness. “Haven't you ever spoken to a human before?”

Harry shook his head, looking ashamed. “I...we aren't supposed to, technically. Humans aren't supposed to know we exist, because then they might start hunting us, and we really don't need that. So...you're the first one I've ever actually talked to. Really glad I picked you, as well...you're nice to me.”

I blushed and thought hard about what I could tell him that would interest him, even if it kind of seemed that anything would get him excited.

“Well, I'm 20 years old, gonna be 21 soon, but that's beside the point...I have no idea how mermaid years work, but yeah. Umm...I just graduated from school. My parents own a boat and they like to go on trips...this trip is my present for passing all of my classes. Just a time to relax and stuff, you know?”

Harry nodded with rapt attention, not taking his eyes off of me. I swallowed, trying not to let it show that Harry's gaze was making me slightly excited myself.

“I love underwater plants...my favorites are water lilies. I like to sit out on the beach and tan sometimes, and I love being in the water, exploring and all that. My best friend is Niall, and he's awesome.”

“Oh...Niall was the one you were with yesterday right? The one that was panicking?” Harry asked, interrupting me, but I didn't mind, and I nodded in response to his question. “Is Niall your boyfriend?” Harry's next question came out in a whisper, and I had to laugh at that. Harry's face fell a little and I reached out to keep rubbing his tail, which seemed to calm him down.

“I'm sorry for laughing, just...I would never date Niall. He's a great lad and all but...not my type. I'm single as a pringle and probably always will be.”

“What's a pringle?” Harry asked, and I smiled like crazy. It was absolutely adorable that he didn't know what a pringle was.

“It's a type of chip that humans eat...do you guys eat human food?”

“Yeah, if we can get some. Usually it's just fruits and things...I've never had these pringles. Are they good?”

“I'd like to think so...but there are many different flavors, so it's always hard to choose your favorite.”

Harry's eyes were alight with interest and he licked his lips, which caused something to stir in my stomach. I shoved those thoughts that were creeping into my mind down.

“But...you're single, then?” Harry asked, getting the conversation going again.

“Yeah...no boyfriend for me. None of the boys I've been with have actually cared about me...I was normally just a one time and done for them. They never really wanted me, they just wanted my body.”

“Well that's not very nice...who wouldn't want you? You're really pretty and nice and you have nice eyes...” Harry trailed off, biting his lip again, and then continued, seeming unable to stop his rambling. “I mean, you do have a nice body, so I understand that but like...there's so much more to you.”

“Is mind reading part of the whole 'being a mermaid' thing or are you just actually observant?” I asked, and Harry shrugged. His hair was almost dry now and was hanging around his face in soft ringlets, and as he shrugged, his curls shimmered in the light of the sun. Fuck, what the hell was wrong with me? Why was I feeling this nervous? I barely knew this guy and he was half fish, for god's sake!

“Nah...you just seem like the type that has so much hidden under the surface, but then again, mermaids are pretty forward about themselves, and we are taught from a young age to look deeper into a person than just the skin. It's the stuff inside that matters.”

I just stared at him in awe. This boy, this beautiful mermaid, had such a pure heart and he was gorgeous and kind and I knew from that moment that I was done for. I may or may not have developed a small crush on him in the time we had been talking, and there was no stopping it now.

“You're something else, you know that? Okay, so tell me...what else do you want to know about my boring human life?”

Harry smiled, his dimples popping to life in his cheeks, and he hoisted himself out of the water a bit more, his eyes bursting with curiosity.

 

***

 

I ended up spending the rest of the day sitting on that rock and talking to Harry. He eventually pulled himself completely out of the water and sat next to me, his fins barely touching the water. His hair had dried completely only a few hours after he had climbed up next to me, and it was resting around his shoulders and face, a lighter brown than I had expected. The streaks of colors in his hair brought out his eyes, which remained glued to me throughout the hours that we talked.

He really wanted to know everything, and I told him everything he asked about, which explained how the day passed so quickly. It was nearly four in the afternoon before I finally stopped talking, sighing and rubbing my stomach, feeling extremely hungry.

“Wow...humans really are interesting! Especially you...you seem to lead an interesting life...all of that traveling and stuff! You must have so many friends!”

I looked down at that. Harry was really sweet and he treated me like I was the best thing since sliced bread, but sometimes his optimism was almost too good to be true.

“I...well, since I was home schooled, I never made friends, really. I was always out on the water so...Niall is my only friend.”

Harry frowned at that, looking genuinely confused, but then his smile came back and he gently put his hand on top of mine, which had not left his tail since that morning. “Well, I'll be your friend. Then you'll have two!” His smile was one of complete happiness, but I just couldn't manage a smile back. Harry didn't know that I was leaving in a day...he thought we had forever to just talk and be friends and I didn't want to upset him, not after this amazing day we'd had together. And of course, being the observant and caring person...mermaid?...that he was, Harry noticed. “What's wrong, Lou? You look sad...”

I tried to give him a small smile. “I...I can't stay. I'm leaving in a day.” Harry's face fell and he looked almost horrified.

“W-what? You're leaving?” His eyes looked very sad and I could have sworn he was about to cry. I put a hand on his arm, trying to soothe him.

“I...I have to, Hazza.”

“What did you call me?”

I hadn't even noticed that a nickname had slipped out of my mouth until I caught his green eyes on me, looking equally sad and confused.

“I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...”

“No no, I liked it. Really like it...” he said shyly, brushing his hair out of his eyes again. I smiled and, being extremely bold for me, slid my hand into his and tangled our fingers together. I had no idea what had come over me, because I wasn't normally this forward, especially with someone I really liked, but with Harry it was easy, almost natural. Harry looked shocked but his eyes had regained their brightness.

“Then you're my Hazza. And I promise you, I won't ever forget you, even when I leave.”

“I...I don't want you to go...you're the only human I've ever met and I...I really like you.” Harry blurted out, blushing, and trying to hide behind his hair.

“I will spend all the time I can with you. I don't want to leave...”

I sighed and, without thinking about it, leaned my head on Harry's shoulder. Instead of protesting, like any normal person would do, he cuddled me closer, his surprisingly strong arm around my shoulders. Again, my whole body was tingling and slowly erupting into goose bumps as Harry's hand rubbed gently up and down my arm. My mind felt slightly fuzzy and I couldn't think of any proper words to say, so we just sat there for a bit, watching the sun sink closer to the horizon.

“I should probably go...my family is probably wondering where I am.”

Harry hummed, turning his head to bury it in my neck, and my throat closed up, feeling his breaths on my neck. I knew for a fact that a wetsuit was not going to leave anything to the imagination if I got excited, so I focused on the tip of his tail, which was dipping in and out of the water as the gentle waves hit the edge of the rock.

“Will you come back tomorrow?” Harry asked into my neck, and I shivered as his lips just barely brushed my skin.

“Yeah...yeah, of course I will. And you can tell me all about mermaids...We didn't exactly do much talking about you today, did we?”

Harry looked up and nodded, his face dangerously close to mine...god, he was so beautiful and I really wanted to...

“Yeah, I...I'd like that...” Harry whispered, his hand tightening on mine. I hadn't even remembered that our hands were still intertwined...fuck, I couldn't do this. I pulled away a little bit and released his hand, much to my own disappointment.

“Lou, wait...” Harry grabbed my hand again and I looked back at him, his eyes wide and hopeful. “I...I'm really glad I met you. I can't wait to see you tomorrow.”

I nodded and gave Harry's hand a squeeze, sliding off the rock and into the water. I pushed off the rock and swam for shore, and when I was upright on the sand, I looked back. A flash of color and sun on scales was the last I saw of Harry before he dove into the water. I walked slowly back along the beach, trying to comprehend my entire day. Mermaids were real...this mermaid was cute and funny and seemed to like me...and as much as I had tried to deny it all day, I was falling for him, and falling fast. I had to tell someone or I would go crazy...but how could I tell anyone about this without sounding completely insane?

“Louis!”

Several voices called my name and I looked up to see my whole family and Niall running towards me, looking relieved. Niall pulled me into a tight hug and Lottie grabbed me around the waist. My parents even joined in on the group hug.

“You've been gone all day, where the hell have you been?” my mum asked, sounding frantic, but I wasn't focused on her. Niall was looking at me strangely, his eyes flickering to the direction I had just come from, and his gaze was asking a million questions.

“I...just went hunting for more water lilies for my tank. The ones from earlier were gone so I swam out a bit and it took a bit longer than I had expected to get back.”

“But all day? Are you sure you're okay?” Mark asked, and I nodded, biting my cheek to keep from revealing that I was lying. Lottie was almost sobbing, not letting go of my waist, and I lifted her into my arms, kissing her forehead.

“M'right here, Lots, I'm not going anywhere.”

“Don't leave like that again, Lou-Lou,” Lottie sniffed, and I hugged her tight, following my family back towards the docks. All of them were talking but Niall was staring at me. I could feel his eyes boring into the side of my head and I knew that I'd have to explain it to him once everyone else was asleep...he wasn't going to let me off the hook that easily.

 

“Louis, you better fill me in, cause I know that you sure as fuck weren't out there just looking for pretty flowers, now spill. You're all...glowy and stuff, what the hell happened?” Niall nearly yelled, and I shushed him, not wanting to wake my parents or Lottie.

“I...I went back just to make sure that we weren't seeing things and...Ni, he's a mermaid. His name is Harry and he's the most beautiful boy I've ever seen in my life. God, he's just so wonderful and we talked all day and he was just...he was sweet to me.”

Niall gaped at me for a few seconds, struggling to find words. He took a deep breath to steady himself, rubbing his eyes.

“You are so fucking gone for him. You're gone for a fish man boy thing!” Niall whispered, cackling as quietly as he could and I shoved him onto the floor.

“Niall, shut up. I...I am not gone for Harry...” I tried to sound like I was being truthful, but I knew that it wasn't true...I really was gone for Harry. Completely gone. And we had known each other for less than 24 hours. I was fucking screwed.

“You really are, though. I've never seen you like this. It's like...every time you mention his name, your whole face lights up like a Christmas tree...”

I blushed and buried my face in my pillow, groaning. “But I can't...I can't like him. We're leaving in a day, and I can't just give him that kind of false hope and then leave him all alone. I can't do that to him.”

Niall shoved me back, having gotten back up onto the bed. “Lou, for the first time ever, I'd reckon, you're in love. This doesn't just happen...you need to hold on to this.”

“How am I supposed to do that? He can't just leave his home, and it's not like I can just tell my parents that I'm staying here to live with my mermaid crush...” I said bitterly, and Niall shrugged.

“I mean, you're right of course. I just...you're different like this, Lou. Not that you aren't happy at other times, but this is a whole new level. Have you kissed him yet?”

“Niall! No, of course I haven't fucking kissed him!” I nearly shouted, and Niall gave a quiet chuckle.

“You wanted to, though, didn't you?”

“That's beside the point...” I mumbled, feeling a blush rising to my cheeks. “He's so beautiful...I feel like I have to be careful and gentle with him...I don't want to scare him off...He wants me to come back tomorrow...and I want to go...”

“Well, of course you're gonna go. And I'll come with you. No, don't argue,” he added as I opened my mouth to protest. “I just want to meet him, and besides, you can tell your parents you're with me, and I'll leave you guys to have your day together. Just as a cover so they don't come looking for you.”

I tackled Niall with a hug, which made him grumble, but I didn't care. “You're the best, Nialler, you know that, right?”

“Yes, yes, now get the hell off me,” Niall said in a muffled voice, and I let him up gently. Niall brushed off imaginary dust and headed over to his bunk, crawling under the covers. I lay back, thinking, and a few moments later, Niall's voice came floating through the dark. “I can't wait to tell Lottie about your mermaid boyfriend...”

I threw a pillow at him and he laughed. “Don't you dare...and he's not my boyfriend.”

“Yet...night, Lou.”

“Good night, Niall.” I grumbled, turning over and closing my eyes.

 

***

The next morning, however, my parents insisted on packing everything up so that we would be ready to go, which resulted in me and Niall doing a lot of the work on deck, cleaning and such. The sun was high in the sky and we were both drenched in sweat and exhausted.

“You don't think that Harry gave up waiting for me, do you?” I muttered to Niall as we sat on deck, eating a light meal of bread, butter, and orange slices.

“Lou...mmm, the way you talked about him yesterday, he'd wait forever just to see you, so I wouldn't worry. We can go right after we are done eating.”

I nodded, but I couldn't stop worrying, and that was just another indication that I was probably completely infatuated with Harry, or worse...in love with him. And what made it worse was, in the case that Harry and I became more than just friends, Lottie would have been right the whole time, and I'd have to endure her teasing for the rest of my life. Not that I planned on telling her that the person I was in love with was a mermaid, but...

“Lou...Lou!! Come back to me, mate!” Niall was shouting in my ear, and I jolted back to reality. Niall was smirking, like he knew exactly who I had been thinking about, but he didn't say anything. “C'mon, let's get in our wetsuits. Your fish boy is waiting for you!”

“Don't call him a fish boy when you see him, please. It's just Harry.” I said, following Niall down under the deck to pull on our suits.

 

We traipsed down the beach, talking and shoving at each other, just having fun, but Harry was definitely at the forefront of my mind. I just wanted to see his beautiful face again and touch his long curls...fuck, I needed to calm down.

“Well, we're here. Now what?” Niall asked, coming to a halt in front of me, and I stumbled into him, almost falling. I was never this clumsy, and my cheeks flared red at the thought of Harry seeing me like this.

“Well, I was just gonna swim out there...you can come with me if you want. Just get in the water a bit before you go off to pick up some other poor innocent girl.”

Niall smirked and clapped me on the shoulder. “Sure, why not? I'm ready to meet the love of your life.”

I ignored him and walked right into the water, waiting until it was up to my waist before diving in and swimming out towards the rock. Niall was right behind me, but as I looked around, I didn't see Harry. Maybe he had forgotten about me...

I reached the rock and pulled myself up onto it, hoisting Niall up after me, and I brushed my wet hair out of my face, looking around at the water. I couldn't see any sign of Harry and I felt my heart sink.

“Lou, maybe he went off to get some food or something...don't worry, he'll be here.”

“Who'll be here?” said a voice, and Niall screeched like a girl and fell backwards into the water with a “Bloody fucking hell!”

Harry pulled himself up onto the rock next to Louis and hugged him around his middle, giggling a little bit as Niall came spluttering up for air. “Is he alright?”

I smiled like an idiot and hugged Harry back, feeling giddy. He was actually here...and looking even more beautiful than yesterday. He had a small band of sea shells circling his head and resting nicely in his curls. God, I wanted to kiss him so bad, but Niall was still here, struggling to pull himself out of the water.

Harry and I both extended hands to him and pulled him up, where he just sat and gaped at Harry, trying to catch his breath. Harry looked back at him innocently and I wanted to disappear...he was too much right now, the water glistening off of his tail and his torso, his wet curls framing his face and his green eyes wide with curiosity as Niall stared at him.

“So...your name is Harry, right?” Niall finally managed, and I let out a breath, relieved that he hadn't said something completely stupid.

“Yeah, I'm Harry. I didn't know Louis would tell you about me...” Harry said, sounding slightly nervous, but not nearly as much as he had initially been with me.

“Oh, trust me...Louis had quite a lot to say about you...” Niall said with a smirk towards me, and I blushed furiously. Harry's face, however, lit up and he smiled softly at me, putting a hand on my arm.

“I...I'm honored. You're Niall, then, yeah? Good to meet you.” Harry reached out with his other hand for a handshake and Niall took it, his eyes still focused on Harry's tail. “You can touch it if you want, I'm not going to bite.”

Niall extended a nervous hand and poked at Harry's tail. Harry giggled, pressing his face into my neck. “That tickles...” he mumbled, and Niall raised his eyebrows at me.

“Well, that's my cue to leave. Don't go too far, kids. Lou, I'll see you back on the docks at 7. I'll cover for you, no worries.”

“Bye, Niall! Nice to meet you!” Harry said cheerfully, and Niall nudged me with a smirk before sliding into the water and heading for the shore.

“Sorry about him...he can be a bit...weird, and he likes to embarrass me,” I mumbled, and Harry looked up, his hair tickling my chin as he pulled back to look at me.

“It's alright. He seems cool, and besides...you're cute when you blush.”

I immediately blushed at the compliment and Harry smiled shyly, his dimple making a small appearance.

“I...umm, I like your shell crown.” I said, at a loss for anything else to comment on. Harry beamed and touched it fondly.

“Thanks...I saw you guys looking for shells that first day and I thought maybe your sister would like it.”

I brought my hand up to touch it and Harry's eyes closed slowly, a smile still on his face. Suddenly Harry's eyes flew open and he looked excitedly at me.

“Oh my god, Lou! I have something I want to show you!”

“By all means, show me,” I smiled at his excitement, and he took my hand, sliding gracefully into the water and taking me with him.

“It's a bit around the corner, if you don't mind. It's where I usually go on days when it's really nice out, and no humans can see.”

I didn't protest, and I let Harry pull me through the water. We didn't go very far before we slipped under a curtain of branches overlapping a cove, and we were suddenly in a sunny area, completely hidden on all sides by trees growing out of the rocks. Harry settled himself in the sand and I crawled up next to him, looking around. This was exactly the type of place that I always looked for when I went on trips and my parents were doing business. Just somewhere to be alone and enjoy. But now, being here with Harry, I realized that the thing I had wanted most during those adventures was someone to share them with, and now I had him. For a few hours, at least.

“It's beautiful here, Hazza.” I said softly, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear, and he smiled. “So...today is the day I get to ask you all about mermaids, right?”

Harry nodded happily and sat up straighter, his tail fins draping over Louis' feet. “Ask away, Lou. You can ask me anything.”

I thought about it for a minute and then grinned. I had a lot of questions, and I was ready to learn.

 

***

“So you're telling me that mermaids get streaks in their hair to match their tail color, and they come at random times?” I asked after about two hours, and Harry laughed, the sound sending tingles of happiness all over my body.

“Yeah, Lou. And there are rumors about humans turning into mermaids by some magic or other and the longer they stay in their mermaid state, the more their hair changes to match.

“And what's that thing you said about soulmates?” I said, almost quietly, and Harry blushed, looking down at his lap.

“Well, when a mermaid finds their soulmate, and we all have one, there are no exceptions to that...some of our scales will turn the color of theirs. Like, for instance, if like...you were my soulmate, since you don't have a tail, my scales, just a few, would turn blue, like your eyes.” Harry blushed as he said this, and I had to exercise a lot of my control to not make any facial expression. He talked about it like it was such a simple thing, like just a fact of life, and here I was struggling just to find a boy that accepted me for who I was. Harry, though, he was just nice to everyone, especially to me, and the thought of being soulmates with him was...crazy, but definitely inviting.

“Well...that would be crazy, wouldn't it...” I muttered, and Harry looked up, his eyes wide.

“Yeah...crazy...” He whispered, his face dangerously close to mine, so close that our noses were almost touching. Both of us jolted out of our stupor at the same moment and looked away embarrassed.

“Right...umm...so, when do you leave?” Harry asked, his voice shaking slightly.

“Tomorrow morning...early, probably.” I said, realizing that I was actually leaving...I actually had to leave Harry behind. The look on Harry's face didn't help my pain either; his eyes looked watery and his lips were turned down in a frown.

“Oh. Okay. Just wondering.” he mumbled, and I immediately felt bad...Harry didn't deserve this. I held out my arms and he scooted closer to me, curling inside my arms and resting his head on my chest. “I don't want you to go, Lou.”

“I know, Hazza. I don't want to go either. I don't know what it is about you, but you just...you're just so different and amazing and I love spending time with you.”

Harry brushed his hair behind his ear again, and then moved closer to me, so that his tail was resting right up against my legs. It was pleasantly cool and smooth against the skin that was exposed, and it made my breath catch just a little. Harry was so close to me now that our noses actually were touching, and I could feel my eyes starting to fall shut...I needed to kiss him, and nothing could stop me this time.

“I...” Harry whispered, his hand coming up to rest on my cheek. I nudged my nose against his, trying to tell him that it was alright, and he leaned forward slowly until our lips brushed together.

He pulled back just as quickly, bringing his other hand up to his lips and touching them. “Did...did you feel that?” He asked in a cracked whisper, looking right into my eyes. My brain was a bit fuzzy but I blinked several times in an attempt to clear my head and form an answer.

“Yeah...Yeah, Hazza, I felt it.” I responded finally, wanting nothing more than to kiss him again. Harry let his fingers brush against my neck and he pulled me close until there was barely a millimeter between us.

“Can I do it again?” He asked, his breath hitting my lips and almost drawing a moan of want out of me.

“Yes...yes, god yes,” I said back, and barely finished before his lips were back on mine, moving very slowly and gently. My hands moved slowly to settle on his waist and I tugged him even closer, feeling the softness of his lips and practically melting with how good it felt.

I pulled back, breathing in deeply, and it took Harry a moment to come back to himself and open his eyes, his pupils blown wide and his cheeks lightly flushed. The end of his tail was twitching of its own accord and he looked generally fucked out for just having been kissed.

“Was...was that your first kiss, Hazza?” I asked him quietly, giving his hip a gentle squeeze, and he nodded, biting his bottom lip.

“Yeah...I'm sorry, I just...I've wanted to kiss you ever since I saw you on the beach and I...I had never done it before, I'm-”

“Don't apologize...I wanted it too, I promise you.” I said kindly, rubbing over his hip and letting my thumb press into the skin, just being gentle with him. My fingertips grazed down his waist and over onto his tail, feeling the smooth scales beneath my fingers. Harry actually shivered at my touch and let out a small whimper.

“It...it was really nice...can we kiss again?” He asked, almost eagerly, and I laughed.

“Of course we can...if you can catch me first.” I jumped up and sprinted for the water, diving in and swimming as fast as I could. I knew he'd catch up to me, but I just wanted to make it fun for him, since I was leaving and this was probably our last day together. I could hear him sliding into the water, his giggles echoing around in the air, and then suddenly it was silent. I made the mistake of stopping and turning to see where he went, and the moment I turned, something grabbed my foot and pulled me under the water. I felt bubbles against my face and a strong arm around my waist, and my head broke the surface of the water. I gasped and opened my eyes, my breath catching once more as I saw Harry two inches in front of me, his hair wet and hanging around his face in curtains.

“Caught you...” His voice came out in a tone of mixed excitement and elation, but there was a little lust in there. His arms tightened around my body and pulled me right against him. I initiated the kiss this time, capturing his plump lips with my own, and he sighed happily into it, kissing back with ease. I took a chance and ran my tongue over his bottom lip, and his lips parted instantly, allowing my tongue to explore his mouth. Harry gave a little moan and his noise went straight to my dick, but I tried to push that away. I just wanted to kiss him, wanted to feel his lips all over mine...and on other parts of me, if at all possible.

Harry suddenly pulled back, looking a bit scared. “Lou, are you okay?” He asked with concern, and I nodded, just wanting to get back to his lips, but the look on Harry's face brought me out of my haze.

“What's wrong?” I asked, and he pointed down in the water, biting his lip.

“You, umm...you're...”

I raised my eyebrows and slid a hand down myself, checking to see if I had, like, a starfish on me or seaweed on me, and as my hand brushed over my crotch, I shuddered, realizing only then that I was hard, and Harry must have felt it against his tail.

“Oh...oh, fuck, I'm so sorry, Harry. It's nothing to be scared of...oh god, I'm so embarrassing...” I groaned, leaning my head on his shoulder, and he kissed my cheek, bringing my face up to look at him.

“What is it, though?” He asked, purely curious now, and I blushed, closing my eyes so that I wouldn't have to see the look on his face when I told him.

“When I get...excited, or I really like something, umm...my...well, my dick gets hard.” I said with a sigh, and opened one eye.

Harry lifted a hand to his mouth, and I knew he was trying to suppress his giggles. My cheeks burned with embarrassment, and Harry lifted his other hand to touch my cheeks.

“Don't be embarrassed, Lou. I'm just...you feel like that, for me?”

I nodded, pressing my lips together and trying to force my erection down. “I...yeah, yeah I do. I really really like you, Harry. And I want nothing more than to stay here with you, but I have to go home.”

“I guess I better take you back...it's getting late,” Harry responded at once, sounding sad, and he took my hand, leading me out of the small cove and back into open water, staying close to the rocks. I wanted to say something to make him feel better, but I couldn't think of anything, because I was sad too. The one person, or mermaid, that I had ever felt a true connection with, and I had to leave him behind. What kind of fucked up irony was this?

We reached our rock (I had just randomly dubbed it that because it made sense, but whatever) and Harry got up on it, offering me his hand and pulling me up until I got my footing. I sat down next to him and we stared out at the open water, Harry resting his head against mine.

“Will you come see me tomorrow?” Harry finally asked, turning to look at me, and I nodded furiously.

“Of course I will. I'll wake up and run down here and kiss you silly, I promise.” I said earnestly, and Harry gave me a small smile, but his eyes were still sad. He reached up and took his shell crown out of his curls, handing it to me.

“Give it to your sister, and tell her you made it. At least when she wears it, you'll remember me.” He added, pressing his lips together, and I knew that he was going to cry. He seemed like an emotional person to begin with, and the fact that he seemed to feeling the same things towards me as I was towards him made it almost inevitable. I took it and placed it in my hair, the only place I could think to put it, and Harry reached up to straighten it, a half smile causing his dimples to pop out. I leaned in and brushed my lips against his, sucking a bit on the bottom one before pulling back.

“I'm going to miss you, Hazza.” I whispered, nuzzling into his neck and taking in his scent, which was a mixture of the salty water and lavender, a mixture that was strange but most definitely one of the best things I had ever smelled.

“M'gonna miss you too, Lou. A lot. I wish you could stay...but I know you can't...”

“It's gonna be alright...I'll make sure all future vacations are to here,” I promised blindly, knowing deep down that I'd probably never come back here again, but just wanting to see him smile.

“I just know I'll see you again...I can feel it,” Harry said confidently, his smile returning, and he pecked my cheek excitedly. I turned my face so that he caught a bit of my lips, and he didn't hesitate to come right back in and kiss me, his lips sucking on mine at a gentle pace. He pecked my lips a few more times and I carefully slid into the water, not letting the crown of shells slip out of my hair. Harry slid in with me, pulling me in for one last kiss, and then he was waving at me, diving away in a ripple of color. I swam for shore, my heart aching for him. Niall was right...I was so far gone for him, and this leaving thing was probably gonna be the hardest thing I had ever done.

Niall was waiting for me on the shore, and he didn't even bat an eye at the shell crown. He just looked at me and smiled sadly, and we walked back towards the docks without a word.

 

When we returned to the boat, the sun was almost fully set, and my parents were setting up a candle lit dinner for all of us on the end of the docks. I squatted next to Lottie, taking the shell crown out of my hair and placing it on her head. She got excited and tried to see it, but I was too quick for her, settling it in her hair and smiling at her.

“Where did you get this, Lou? It's so pretty!” Lottie grinned, not even knowing what it looked like, but feeling it with her fingers and just knowing.

“I...a friend made it and he gave it to me, to give to you. I hope you like it.”

Lottie nodded excitedly. “I'm never taking it off!”

Niall smiled at her and let her settle on his lap, but he was watching me with a sad expression, obviously having heard the sadness in my voice. I let my legs dangle over the edge and accepted the sandwich that my mum handed me. We ate in silence, all of my thoughts about Harry and how much I would miss him.

We went to bed full and happy and all packed for an early departure. We had to wait for the sun to rise, so I set my phone alarm for about 30 minutes before sunrise and lay back on my pillows, trying desperately to fall asleep. Harry's beautiful face kept creeping into my mind, and eventually I settled into a kind of half sleep, thinking about the day and Harry and just...everything. I felt like I needed to give him something, something to help him remember me. He had done so for me, and even though it wasn't technically mine, it was still a reminder. A reminder of the love and happiness that we had shared, however brief our time together had been. And then it hit me; a tiny piece of information swam to the front of my mind and I knew, without a doubt in my mind, what I was going to give him.

 

***

My alarm went off and my hand slapped down on it, turning it off before it could wake anyone up. I stretched, pulling on just swim trunks, and then leaned over and lifted the top off of my aquarium, pulling out the water lily. I knew it would look perfect in Harry's curls, and he would love it.

I slipped outside quietly and made my way down the beach, letting the sand squish between my toes as I hurried towards the rocks. When I reached them, I clamped the small stem of the flower in my mouth and dove into the water, ignoring how cold it was this early in the morning. Before I even reached the halfway point, I could see Harry's head bob out of the water as he clung to the rock, waiting for me anxiously. I swam right to him, placed the flower gently on the rock, and pulled his face to mine, kissing him senseless. He hummed and kissed me back, both of us holding on for dear life, neither of us wanting to let go. My nose brushed his cheek and I peppered kisses down his jawline before going back to his mouth and then pulling back, knowing I didn't have a lot of time before my parents were up and looking for me. Harry, however, touched my chest carefully, tracing over the tattoos there.

“What are these?” he asked curiously, touching my arm as well, where he must have seen my others from yesterday.

“Tattoos, love. Ink permanently on my skin. Just memories, I guess. A lot of them are pretty stupid, but I like them.”

Harry nodded, his fingertips grazing my chest again and making my nipples go slightly more hard than they already were. “I want to get one...but of course, I really can't do that. Will you get more?”

I laughed, lifting his hand from my chest and kissing the back of it. “Yeah, I think I might.”

Harry just smiled, reaching out to touch them again, but I knew I was running out of time, and quickly.

“Hazza...I brought you something, love.” I lifted the flower and showed it to him. His eyes lit up and he gasped. “It's a water lily...my favorite flower and the only one I have. I want you to remember me, okay? I wish I didn't have to leave you, because you're honestly the best thing that's happened to me in a long time, but if I have to, at least I can leave you with this.”

Harry carefully reached for the flower, and as our fingers touched around the stem, a spark flew between them, causing us both to jump. I didn't even think it was possible to have static electricity in water, but whatever. Harry smelled the flower, his eyelashes brushing his cheeks as his eye closed. He was a picture of beauty, more beautiful than even the flower, and my heart hurt. How could I leave this behind?

“I...I should go, Hazza. Don't want my parents to worry...” I said thickly, feeling tears pricking in my eyes. I didn't often cry, but for some reason, this was painful to the point of tears. Harry's smile fell away and he sniffed, throwing his arms around me.

“I'll miss you so much, Lou. Th-thank you for...for showing me...just for being nice to me.” he mumbled into my neck, and I felt a tear roll down my cheek as I held him to me with one arm, the other still holding onto the rock and keeping me from sinking under Harry's weight.

“We'll see each other again...I promise,” I replied shakily, kissing his temple and rubbing his back. He sniffed again and pulled away from the hug, kissing my cheek and wiping his eyes, still holding the flower.

“Until then, Lou.”

I pressed one last kiss to his lips and turned, forcing myself to swim off before I changed my mind and stayed with him. I reached the shore and looked back as I walked up to the dry sand. Harry was holding onto the rock, smelling the flower again. He looked up and waved, and I waved back, blowing him a kiss. I then turned and made a run back to my boat, making it just as my parents were coming up.

“Where did you go, Lou?” Mark asked, and I tried to look upbeat and happy, even though my heart was hurting.

“Just for a run...nothing huge.”

“Well, go back down and get a bit more sleep. You'll need to help us unload when we get back.”

I nodded and headed below decks, feeling the boat lurch as the anchor was raised and we were untied from the dock. I sat down on my bed, staring down at my hands. A tear landed in my lap and I didn't bother to wipe my eyes. I just lay back and curled up in a ball, falling asleep.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that I haven't posted in like...three weeks, I was extremely sick, and it was just one thing after the other and I wasn't getting better. But now I am, and here we are with chapter two. I hope it won't take as long for the next chapter, and I really hope you guys enjoy this one. 
> 
> All the love, as always xx
> 
> ~L

 

“Lou...Louis, wake up. We're back home.” A small voice whispered in my ear, and I woke with a start from my half sleep, rubbing my eyes and sitting up slowly. Lottie was standing there, her bag on her shoulder and her eyes bright and looking like the picture of innocence. I felt my throat get tight as I saw that the shell crown was nestled carefully in her hair, but I pushed all thoughts of anything to do with Harry out of my mind as I climbed out of bed, pulling on a shirt and some shoes and shouldering my bag. Lottie had already headed up the stairs and I followed her. It was a grey day, the sun hidden behind a mass of dark and dreary clouds, and a misty rain was fogging over the entire dock. Honestly, it was mirroring my mood a bit.

Niall was waiting for me on the docks, his smile firmly on his face as he stood on solid ground...he was probably thrilled to be back home and not on the boat anymore. I gave him a small smile and called over to my mum and Mark.

“Gonna walk Ni home. Be back soon!”

“Yeah, sure! Pick up some pizzas along the way, would you?” Mark called back in response, and Niall groaned.

“I'm missing pizza night? I'd give up another three weeks on that boat to stay for pizza night!” He complained, but I just dragged him off down the docks towards the street. I just needed to be alone with the one person who knew what I was going through, because Niall wouldn't ask any questions. We walked in silence up towards town, since Niall lived on the other side, until Niall finally spoke up, not able to stand being silent for more than a few minutes at a time.

“I'm sure he misses you too, you know.”

I sighed, scratching the back of my slightly sunburned neck. “I know...I just wish I hadn't left him, you know? I mean...ugh, I don't know how to word it right...”

“Your family would have been devastated...especially Lottie. Doubt she would have taken it well if I had to tell her that her brother was leaving her and her parents behind for his mermaid boyfriend.”

I actually chuckled at that and slung an arm easily around Niall's shoulders. “Ah, what would I do without you and your lovely jokes, Nialler?”

“Die of boredom, probably,” Niall responded with a laugh, and we turned onto his street. I could see his mum waiting at the end of the driveway, and she came running as soon as she caught sight of us, crushing her son in a bone breaking hug.

“Mum, jeez, calm down. I wasn't gone that long,” Niall muttered, cringing as his mum pressed sloppy kisses all over his face, but I didn't even bother laughing, cause I knew I was next.

After Mrs. Horan had finished greeting us, I made my exit. My stomach was rumbling and I still had to stop along the way and get pizza. I told Niall I'd meet him on the beach later that week for some lad time and then left, pulling my hood up over my head.

By the time I had picked up the pizzas and reached my street, it was almost pouring and I was soaking wet, having used my jacket to protect the pizzas. As Niall always said, food comes first. I hurried into the house and dumped the pizzas in the kitchen, hurrying down the hall to get changed into dry clothes.

I went back out to the main room and saw Lottie and Mark already settled on the couch watching a movie, pizza in their hands. My mum had made me a plate and was in the middle of getting drinks. I gently took the glasses from her and filled them, jerking my head in the direction of the main room and telling her to sit down and relax.

I brought the cups into the main room and settled down on my favorite chair by the window, but my mind was everywhere but the movie. I looked out at the ocean and a terrible ache rose in my chest. It was always hard for me to be away from the water after spending so much time on a boat, but now, looking out there, it was so much worse. I knew that, miles away, Harry was probably sitting by our rock, looking at other humans and wishing I would come back, and I wanted nothing more than to give him that, but I couldn't. I sighed and forced myself to focus on the movie. I couldn't let this eat at me, I had to face the facts...I was never going to see my beautiful mermaid again.

 

***

I got less and less sleep each night, and by the middle of the week, it was just me getting a few hours of restless sleep, tossing and turning and having strange dreams that involved Harry disappearing in unusual ways, which always resulted in my eyes flying open and me panicking slightly before remembering where I was and what was going on.

I walked out to the kitchen a few days after arriving at home, rubbing my eyes and dressed only in boxers...today was a lazy day. I'd have to go in to help my mum at her store in a few days, but her and Mark always gave me a week's recovery time back on land before going to work, and right now, I was especially grateful for it.

“Lou, you look exhausted...did you even sleep?” Mark asked, setting a cup of orange juice in front of me and looking at me in slight concern. I shook my head and groaned, my face in my hands.

“I could hear you tossing and turning...bad dreams?” My mum dropped a kiss onto my head and I just nodded, figuring it was easier to tell her that then to say something like _'well, I miss my boyfriend, who, by the way, is a mermaid, and isn't actually my boyfriend because I had to leave him behind'_. She nodded sympathetically and started clearing up the dishes from hers and Marks' breakfast. “We're gonna be in all day, and Lottie is gonna stay here with you, is that alright?”

“Yeah...Niall's coming over today, we were gonna go to the beach,” I mumbled, picking up a piece of toast and munching on it half-heartedly.

“That's fine, just tell Lottie when you're leaving. She can stay here if she wants or she can go with you, it's just outside anyway, so it's not a huge deal if you go without her.” Mark said, and Mum gave him a look but didn't protest. She was extremely protective of the both of us, especially Lottie, but Mark let us have a lot of freedom, and she trusted him, so it worked out.

I nodded in response to Mark's answer and let my head drop onto the table, my temples throbbing with an oncoming headache. I really just needed a day out with Niall, maybe go surfing a bit and try to have a good time. I couldn't let myself fall into some sort of depression because of a guy I met one time, even if he was perfect in every possible way. I forced my head up and downed my entire cup of juice, shoving the toast into my mouth and heading back to my room to change, calling Niall as I was doing that.

“Hey, mate, was just gonna call you. I'm on my way already, so you better be out there waiting for me. Want to have a proper beach day with you.” Niall's cheery voice rang in my ears, ringing a bit and making me cringe...it was definitely too early for this, but I loved him anyway.

“Yeah...sure...wetsuit or trunks?” I asked, placing my phone on my bed and crouching down to open my bottom drawer, where I kept all of my beach stuff.

“Trunks. And a tank top, heard it's supposed to be really hot and neither of us need to get burned before the beach season really starts.” Niall replied, sounding out of breath. I was just about to take off my boxers when there was a knock on my window and I jumped, looking wildly around and grumbling when I saw Niall's cheeky grin through the window. I waved him off and hurried to the bathroom to change, reasoning with myself that I could just get a shower after the beach, since I would get gross and sandy anyway.

After changing, I went to Lottie's room, where she had a movie in and was watching with rapt attention. I heard the familiar music of The Little Mermaid playing and bit my lip, refusing to let my mind go to that particular subject. “Lots, I'm headed to the beach with Nialler. If you need me, just come on out, we won't go far.”  
“Okay,” she answered, and I was just about to leave when she called me back. “Lou, what happened at the last place we went to? You're all...different. Something's different about you.”

I swallowed hard, wondering how on Earth an eleven year old could tell something like that, but it wasn't like I could hold anything back from her at this point, since I would never see him again. Okay, maybe the mermaid part, but everything else, I could tell her.

“I, umm...made a close friend while we were there. His name was Harry, and we were...well, almost like boyfriends, I guess. All that soulmate stuff, I thought maybe it was my shot at it, but it was too good to be true. I had to leave him, and that made me sad. I miss him a lot.” I answered honestly, and Lottie actually paused her movie, coming over to hug me around the waist. I hugged her back, petting her hair and straightening the shell crown, which she hadn't taken off since I had given it to her. She let me go and touched the shell crown lightly.

“Did he give this to you?” She asked, and I nodded.

“He wanted you to have it, actually. He thought you'd like it.”

She smiled and then looked up at me with the biggest blue eyes I had ever seen. “Maybe Harry'll come looking for you, Lou. Soulmates always find a way to each other.”

I shook my head sadly. “I don't think so, Lots. He's very far away and travel isn't....it isn't exactly the easiest for him...he'd have to travel by water. I doubt he'd even know where to go if he wanted to find me. But yeah, it's always possible, I guess.”

“Well, I'll keep a lookout for him for you, Lou.” She reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze before settling back on her bed and flicking the movie back on. I hesitated, teetering on the edge of telling her, and then decided against it, walking out and hurrying to meet Niall, who was probably getting very impatient, as he tended to do.

 

***

After three hours in the hot sun, it was nearly two in the afternoon and Niall and I were exhausted. We had spent the better part of the last two hours surfing the small waves that were coasting onto the beach today, and now we were laying back on our towels, soaking up the sun and listening to some sort of music blaring from Niall's phone. I propped myself up on my elbows and squinted out at the water, watching the buoys bouncing in the soft waves and the boats coming in and out. It was very relaxing to just watch, knowing I was home and not going anywhere for a while. Of course, my mind drifted to Harry, but I tried my best not to flinch at every flash of something shiny among the waves. I was losing it, I really was. I laid back down and tried to lose myself in Niall's music, ignoring everything around me except the sound of the ocean on the beach and the beat of the song.

“LOUIS!!!!” A shout from the house made me sit up, rubbing my eyes and getting sand all over my face. I growled at myself and stood up, seeing Lottie's face staring out the window. She waved me over and I sighed, padding across the warm sand to her.

“I saw something! Out there by that one big buoy! I think it's a mer-”

I held up a hand and she stopped speaking at once, waiting for me to clear out my eyes, and then I looked to where she was referring to. I saw nothing, and the small bubble of hope that had swelled in my chest disappeared as quickly as it had come. “Lots, I think you've been watching that movie too much. You're seeing things.”

Lottie shook her head furiously. “I'm telling you, Lou, I saw him again! It had to be him, same color tail and everything!”

“What's going on?” Niall's voice echoed across the expanse of beach as he came trotting towards us, leaving our towels and his phone out on the beach and stopping in front of us.

“Lottie thinks she saw...” I started, but Lottie spoke over me, wanting to get her story straight and obviously thinking I would mess it up.

“I saw the mermaid again, Ni. The one from before! He was out there, I swear I saw him.”

Niall raised his eyebrows at me, and I shook my head very slightly, indicating that we would talk about it when Lottie wasn't around. Niall reached up and gave her hair a ruffle, being careful not to dislodge her shell crown.

“I think you just need to do a bit more investigating before you do that. Why don't you go use your brother's computer and look up stuff on mermaids, hmm? That might help you find him. In an hour or so, you can come report to me, yeah?”

Lottie grinned, looking at me for permission to use my laptop, and I just waved her off, smiling, as she closed the window and ran back into the house to get started.

“How do you do that?” I asked as Niall and I trudged back over to our towels, flopping down onto them.

“I just tell her what she wants to hear...you're the older brother here, Lou, you should try it sometime.” He moved his towel closer to mine and looked me right in the eye. “Do you think she saw him? Is it even possible for him to be here?”

I shook my head, giving a small painful smile. “I don't think so. I mean, I did tell her about Harry, I just didn't mention that he was the mermaid she saw, or that he was a mermaid at all. I just didn't want to get my own hopes up as well as hers, okay? It's going to be so much easier if I try to forget what happened instead of pining over someone who I never even had in the first place.”

Niall looked ready to give me a speech, but I just rolled over onto my stomach and closed my eyes, and he knew that the conversation was over.

 

***

An hour later, my back was sufficiently tan and Niall's cheeks had started to burn, and we were taking one last dip in the water to clean off our feet when Lottie came sprinting down the beach, papers in her hands and her hair flying wild behind her. Niall caught her in his arms as she jumped for him and he spun her around a few times before setting her down and holding his hand out for the papers.

“What have we got here, eh?” He said in a convincingly interested voice, looking through the papers one by one. Lottie stood there proudly, hands clasped behind her back and a smug smile on her face.

“Well, I found out a lot, actually. I found out that mermaids can actually turn human, without the help of a crazy sea witch like Ursula. There are items that, with a mermaid's touch, can become magical and allow them to change as long as they have possession of the item. It would be like if a human and a mermaid fell in love and the human gave the mermaid something, then if the mermaid had it or wore it, they would be able to grow legs and all that, and could walk among humans as though nothing was different. But the moment they lose the object, they turn right back.”

I thought vaguely about the flower I had given Harry right before I left, but I pushed that thought away. It was a flower, and more than likely dead by now, so it didn't really matter anyway. But now I was actually listening to my sister, who went on with great gusto about the other things she had printed out. Some of the facts matched perfectly with things Harry had told me, and at this point, I would believe pretty much anything, except for the fact that he was coming back. He didn't know where I lived, I had never told him. It wasn't like he could just leave home, and in any case, he definitely couldn't swim that far. It was just all stupid wishful thinking that I really couldn't allow myself to think, because that would lead to feelings, and then to me being sad, and Lottie had already noticed a change in me, and I didn't want that to be a permanent thing. I didn't want her to worry about me.

Lottie finished explaining with a big breath, and I had to admit, even Niall looked floored at this information. He was nodding, impressed, and giving me side looks that meant we would be having another conversation about the one thing I really wanted to avoid, but whatever. If it kept Lottie happy to be optimistic, then who was I to get in the way of that?

“Well, let's get back up to the house and make dinner for your parents and then maybe I can do some research with you?” Niall asked, and Lottie bounced up and down happily. I gathered the towels and pulled on my tank top, swinging the sandy towels over my shoulder and starting to follow Niall and Lottie up to the house. We were almost to the steps when Lottie froze and then started hurrying for the water.

“Lottie, what are you doing? Lottie!” I called, but she wasn't stopping. I hurried after her, and she stopped at the edge of the water, squinting out to the buoy from earlier. Niall and I hurried up next to her, and I focused as hard as I could on the buoy.

“I see him...I can see him from here...I think he's waving at us?” Lottie whispered, and Niall and I looked at each other. Had the sun gotten to her or something?

A flash of color caught my attention and the buoy moved slightly off course. A head bobbed up next to it and as the figure raised his hand, I could see a hint of purple enclosed in it...the water lily. This was not possible, I was losing my mind.

“Lou, you see it...right?” Niall asked quietly and unsure, and I nodded, hardly believing it. If we were all seeing it then he must be right there, but...

The figure tucked the flower behind his ear and then suddenly, his head was gone. The water around the buoy splashed and I saw his head pop briefly back above the water before disappearing once more. Not even giving a second thought to what I was doing or the fact that I might be completely delusional and seeing things, I threw the towels at Niall, who was hugging Lottie. Her eyes were wide and she looked terrified.

“Lottie, stay with Niall. I'm going to help.”

“But, Lou, it's...”

“Stay here!” I yelled, sprinting into the water and diving as soon as it was deep enough. The swim out to the buoy was not as far as it looked, but the water was a bit rougher than this morning, indicating that a storm was most likely on it's way. As I approached it, I dove under, widening my eyes so that I could see through the slightly murky water. Sure enough, there was a human figure sinking right beneath the buoy, his long hair waving in the water and a purple water lily tucked behind his ear. I dove down and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him to the surface and starting to drag him towards the shore. I knew it had to be Harry...he looked the same, he smelled the same, hell, he even had the flower, but he had legs. He had fucking legs, for crying out loud, and he most definitely wasn't breathing. Lottie's information flashed again through my mind, but I didn't have time to really think about that. I had reached the shore and I dragged Harry up onto the beach, only then realizing that he was completely naked.

“Niall, towel!” I yelled, and a towel came flying my way. I wrapped it around Harry's middle and eased him to the sand. Lottie was crying, trying to inch her way closer.

“Niall, take her inside. I've got him.”

Niall didn't hesitate, but hoisted Lottie into his arms and hurried up the beach, trying to soothe her. I turned back to Harry, brushing his wet hair out of his face and trying not to panic.

“Come on, Harry, breathe for me...” I mumbled, trying to think of what to do, because in my blind panic, all beach safety had fled my brain. Harry suddenly jerked up and sprayed water everywhere as he coughed up half the ocean all over me. I didn't flinch, but pulled him half into my arms and cradled him gently until he had finally caught his breath. His bleary eyes focused on me and recognition lit up in them, before they rolled back in his head and he fainted.

I stood carefully, making sure the towel was still wrapped around him, for his sake and for mine, and stumbled towards the house. Niall came out to meet me, and I could see Lottie's terrified and tear-stained face in the window, watching as Niall grabbed Harry's other side and helped me lift him up the stairs and through the door.

“To my room,” I said shortly, and we carried him back, getting him on the bed and keeping him covered.

“What the fuck happened?” Niall gasped, staring at me in just as much shock as I was feeling. I couldn't even believe he was here in my room, let alone with legs. I just shook my head in disbelief, not having any words to explain what emotions were running through me. Niall put a reassuring hand on my back and rubbed gently until I had gotten my bearings back.

“I...I think that magic item thing is what happened...I gave him that flower and the moment he put it in his hair, he just...I had to save him, Ni, I didn't know what else to do. I panicked.”

I was gripping Harry's limp hand in mine tightly, not realizing it until Niall put a hand on top of mine, and then I gently released Harry's fingers, looking up at Niall.

“What do we do now?” He asked, and I shrugged. I honestly had no idea what to do...he had legs. That much was certain. Whether it had happened before or this was the first time, I had no idea, but it was right there in front of me. He was naked in my room, and I had no idea how I was supposed to explain the stranger in my bedroom that couldn't walk and didn't have clothes. And then there was Lottie to think about...

“Lottie...we have to talk to Lottie...” I mumbled, more to myself than to Niall, but he heard me anyway and pulled me to my feet. I reached back out for Harry but Niall guided me out of the room and out towards the main room, where Lottie was sitting on the floor, sniffling and wiping her eyes. It was at that moment that I realized the tears on my cheeks, and I quickly wiped them away before she could see them. I had to be strong for her.

“Lou, is he...is he gonna be okay?” She asked tearfully the moment she saw me, and I knelt down in front of her, taking her small hands in mine.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Is he a mermaid?”

I could have laughed at that one, cause at this point, I really didn't know or understand any of what was going on. “Well, he definitely was one, but he's got legs, so I'd say human for now.”

She nodded, biting her lip. “That's Harry, isn't it?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but she continued, putting everything together much faster than I ever would have at her age. “Harry's the mermaid that I saw...he's your soulmate, isn't he?”

“Lots, I think that's enough questions for Louis. We have to wait for Harry to wake up before we can determine any more of what is happening. All we know is that he's here and we are going to keep him safe.” Niall said soothingly, and Lottie nodded. I touched her arm and she turned to me, her eyes wide.

“We can't tell Mum and Mark, alright?” Before she could ask why, I added, “Because it's going to be very hard to explain that there's a strange boy naked in my room who can't walk. We'll just have to keep it a secret until we figure out what's going on and what to do, yeah? Can you do that for me?”

Lottie nodded, her eyes still wide, and then she hugged me, burying her face in my shoulder. “I hope Harry's okay...he's really pretty, he doesn't deserve to hurt. And he obviously makes you happy, so he needs to be okay, for you.”

I felt my throat closing up at that...Lottie was so young, yet she had such wise words in her, and sometimes I just didn't know what to make of her. At least she hadn't asked any questions about her brother being in love with a mermaid.

 

***

Mum and Mark came home only ten minutes later, and we were all in the kitchen, cooking away and acting completely normal, and they asked no questions. We cooked and we ate and then they went to bed. At that point, Niall and I walked carefully back to my room, cracking the door open and peering inside, Lottie looking through our legs to see. Harry was sound asleep in my bed, the towel dipping low on his hips which, as a human, were extremely defined and were the cause of a lot of swallowing and lip biting on my end, but he seemed to be fine. I wasn't going to attempt to dress him or anything until he woke up, so I took Lottie to bed and made up camp on her floor with Niall. We didn't want Harry waking up with two other boys in the room, or he might get a little freaked out.

“Night, Lots...thanks for all your help.” I muttered quietly, and she hummed in response, almost asleep.

“Night, Lou...night, Nialler...Night, Harry...” she whispered back, and I rolled over, my eyes wide open. There was no way I was getting any sleep tonight.

 

***

I eventually did fall asleep, probably from pure exhaustion, but I was woken in the early hours of the morning by a loud thump and a muffled 'ow' from the next room over. I blinked, trying to think what could have made that noise, and then I sat straight up, blankets falling off of me. Niall and Lottie were fast asleep and the first rays of sunlight were just starting to come through the window. There was another loud thump and I got carefully to my feet, almost scared of what I might see when I walked into the next room, but I had to make sure that everything was alright.

I knocked on the door and carefully opened it, peering inside slowly. The bed was empty, and Harry was in a heap on the floor, thankfully still mostly covered by the blanket, which had fallen with him. I slipped into the room and closed the door behind me, staring at him. It was taking a lot for me to comprehend that Harry, my Harry, was sitting on the floor of my bedroom...with legs.

Harry looked up and his bright green eyes lit up the moment he saw me, but still, neither of us spoke. Harry's hair was completely dry, long chocolate curls falling past his collarbones and curling around his ears, accenting the different colored strands. The purple water lily, which was in perfect shape, was tucked behind his ear securely and his cheeks were flushed a little. Fucking hell, he was so beautiful.

“Louis?” Harry's voice sounded a bit rough, but it was still deep and sounded like melted chocolate. I walked closer to him and knelt down in front of him, giving one long hard look to be absolutely sure I wasn't dreaming. Harry reached out and touched my arm lightly, almost like he was doing the same thing, and then we were tangled together in a huge hug, just holding onto each other for dear life.

“I...I thought I'd never find you...” Harry mumbled into my neck, his hair tickling my chin. My heart was pounding right out of my chest and I was sure he could feel it, but I didn't care. I was completely taken in by his smell and his beautiful curls and just _Harry._

I pulled back from the hug and didn't hesitate to press my lips to his, which he responded to at once, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me right up against him. We exchanged light kisses for a bit before I remembered the strangeness of the situation at hand, and I moved off of his lap.

“Umm..Haz, love, you...you have...” I stuttered, still a bit out of it from kissing him, and he nodded, smiling like crazy.

“I've got legs now, Lou!”

Never in my life had I heard someone so enthusiastic about having legs, and I let out a small giggle, which made Harry blush and hide behind his hair.

“I'm assuming that's how you ended up on the floor, then?” I asked, and he nodded sheepishly.

“I watch humans walk all the time, I figured it wouldn't be too hard to get up, but I don't think I know how to use them...” Harry mumbled, looking embarrassed, but I just pressed a kiss to his forehead and crawled over to where his toes were sticking out from under the blanket. He had surprisingly large feet, and I couldn't help thinking what else might be large on him now that he was human, but now was not the time. I gently touched Harry's big toe and he giggled, pulling away.

“Tickles, Lou...” He said softly, and I just kept touching his toes, bending them and moving them around and watching him squirm. He was too adorable, I couldn't help it. Just seeing the smile on his face was enough for me to be entertained for hours.

“Well, first, we need to get you in some clothes, and then we can worry about walking,” I said, and Harry's eyebrows crunched together in confusion.

“Why do I need clothes? Why can't I just walk around like this?” He looked about ready to take the blanket right off of him, and then I'd be in real trouble, so I just laid my hand carefully on his ankle to stop him.

“Just...trust me. Some shorts and boxers at least. You'll want them, I promise you.”

Harry was still very confused, but he nodded and stayed where he was as I went to my closet, looking around for some clothes for him to wear. When I turned back around, it was to see Harry staring shamelessly at my bum, which I now realized was clad in tight boxer briefs and nothing else. Harry caught me looking at him and said, with no shame at all,

“You have a hot bum, Lou.”

I laughed out loud, striking a stupid pose before walking back over to Harry and handing him a random pair of boxers that I wasn't even sure were mine and an old pair of jean shorts. He lifted the boxers and then peered under the blanket curiously. His eyes got wide and he let the blanket fall, his mouth gaping a bit.

“Umm...” He mumbled, clearly not knowing what to say, and he lifted the blanket once more, staring at himself with utter curiosity. I didn't know whether to laugh or run for it, because his reaction to his own body was very cute, but if he was having that reaction to himself, what might mine be if I had to help him get dressed?

“What is it?” Harry whispered, looking up at me with those big green eyes, and a smile pulled its way onto my face.

“That is your penis, Harry.” When Harry still looked confused, I added, “You know...cock, dick, whatever you choose to call it, really. It's...it's what got hard on me when we made out. Now that you're human, you have one too.” I could not even believe I was having this conversation with a mermaid turned human in my bedroom this early in the morning. Harry lifted the blanket yes again, swallowing and staring at himself before looking back up at me and cocking his head to the side slightly.

“Why...umm, why is it so big?”

I choked on air and spluttered, not even daring to accept what he just said. No, I could not let my mind wander to that...I definitely could not do that.

“Some...are bigger than others...” I gasped out, and Harry nodded, looking down at himself once more. Without any warning, he whipped the blanket off and I quickly lifted my eyes to a point above his head, trying to give him privacy. He seemed to be struggling with the boxers, though, and I knew he wasn't going to get it on his own.

“Here, love...let me show you...” I squeaked, holding my hand out for the boxers and moving my gaze to the wall before looking down at Harry's legs, not looking any higher than his knees. Harry handed me the soft material and I took hold of his foot, slipping it through one of the leg holes and then did the other. “See, now you just...pull them up and tuck yourself in.”

“Right...okay...” Harry shimmied the boxers up his endless legs and I bit down hard on my lip, looking away until Harry made a satisfied noise, and I risked looking back at him. I made the conclusion that those definitely weren't my boxers. They must have been Niall's and gotten mixed up in my laundry, because on Harry...holy fuck, I needed to get a cold shower...even through the material, I could tell he was huge, definitely bigger than me, and I was just thanking my lucky stars that Niall wasn't there with me, because he'd never let me hear the end of that.

“They're a little tight...” Harry commented, and I really just wanted to sink right through the floor...he really had no idea what he was doing to me.

“Umm...I think they might be Niall's...That's okay, we can go buy ones that fit you later. Here, these are the only shorts I have that might fit you. You wanna try to put them on?”

Harry nodded enthusiastically, his hair bouncing around his face as he made grabby hands for the jean shorts. He leaned over, his body bending right in half, and pulled one foot through the hole, then the other through the other hole, and pulled them up his body and fumbled for a few seconds with the button. He looked up at me, almost for approval, and I nodded, smiling.

“Good! Okay, now we have to get you on your feet. You ready to try this?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, definitely...I think. Help me?” He lifted his arms up to me like a little child and I knelt down from where I was standing, hooking an arm around his waist. He was pretty much dead weight, not knowing how to distribute his weight evenly, but I managed to get him upright and on his feet. I noticed that his toes pointed slightly inward, but it only made him more endearing, if I was being honest. I kept my arm securely around his surprisingly small waist and showed him how to move one foot forward. He bit his lip, concentrating hard, and moved his leg about an inch forward. He smiled giddily and I just chuckled, encouraging him to take another step forward. He did it again...and then again, until he was taking baby steps in circles around my bedroom. I kicked all of the stuff out of the way so he wouldn't trip and we kept doing that until Harry seemed to be getting the hang of it.

“Ready for me to let go, Haz?” I asked him, and he looked hesitant, but nodded. I let him go and he stood there unsteadily, not sure what to do. I nodded encouragingly and he moved his foot a little, taking the smallest of steps. He wobbled and tried to take another step to balance himself, but he fell forward, and I moved to catch him. His face was right up close to mine as he looked sheepishly up at me from my arms.

“Oopsie...sorry, Lou.” He said quietly, and all I wanted to do was kiss him senseless, so that's exactly what I did. We sank onto the bed, carefully starting to make out and just be with each other. This was so much to take in, but right now all I wanted was to feel Harry's lips on mine.

There was a knock on the door and Harry froze, suddenly looking scared. I remembered that he had never spoken to or even met another human before besides me, and briefly Niall, and that Niall and Lottie had probably been awake ever since I left the room, listening at the wall to see what was going on. I put an arm around him and squeezed him gently.

“It's alright...probably just Niall and my sister. You wanna say hi?”

Harry bit his lip, tugging on a curl nervously, but nodded, and I stood up to open the door. Niall came in, smiling, and Lottie was hiding behind his legs, peering out at Harry with genuine curiosity on her face.

“Hey, Harry, how are you feeling?” Niall asked, and Harry shrugged, trying to hide behind me.

“Don't be shy, love,” I whispered, pecking his temple lightly, and Lottie made a noise somewhere between a squeak of excitement and a groan of disgust. Guess she had never seen me act like this around anyone before, and was trying to decide if it was gross for her older brother to be disgustingly happy or if she was just happy I had found Harry.

“Hazza, this is Lottie, my little sister. Lottie, this is Harry.” I introduced them, and Lottie came out from behind Niall, inching closer to Harry and reaching out carefully to touch his hair.

“You're a mermaid...” She said in awe, and Harry laughed quietly, letting Lottie play with his hair.

“Well, I mean...I've got legs now but yeah, I am. Nice to meet you.” His voice was soft and quiet, and I wanted to melt. Niall was pretending to gag behind Lottie's back, and I threw a pillow at him. Harry and Lottie were now deep in conversation about mermaids and I stood up, nodding for Niall to follow me as I headed out into the hallway.

“Holy fucking shit, Lou, I have never in my life seen that look on your face before...you're completely whipped, mate.” Niall cackled, and I shoved him lightly.

“I know...I just never thought I'd see him and now he's here and he's got legs and I don't know what else to do, I just love him so much. Am I insane?”

Niall shook his head, clapping me on the shoulder. “Definitely not. If you had ever been this happy before, I would have killed you for losing that. You're just...you're glowing.”

“You're making me sound like I'm a mother or something,” I grumbled, and Niall laughed again.

“Lottie says that soulmates just kind of...click, and they make each other too happy for words. If that's not what I'm seeing, then I'm a leprechaun.”

“I wouldn't rule that one out, Nialler,” I joked, and we heard a loud laugh coming from my room, and suddenly remembered that Harry and Lottie were in there discussing god knows what.

“We should make some food. I'll take Lottie with me and you can have some more time with Harry...figure out what's going on and all that.” Niall offered, and I smiled, giving him a one armed hug. He always knew what to do.

We made our way back to my room to find Harry a blushing mess and Lottie giggling uncontrollably.

“Lots, come help me make food.” Niall called cheerily, and Lottie jumped up, leaving me and Harry alone in the room once more. I went to sit right next to Harry and he leaned into my side, cuddling close to me and nuzzling my neck.

“Lou, I just...I don't know what to say, what to do, I just...I feel such a connection to you and I wanted to find you and now you're right here and I...” Harry started, rambling nonsense, so I shut him up with a gentle peck to the lips.

“I'm actually curious...how did you find me?” I asked, pulling him half into my arms and letting him lay his head on my chest.

“Was a spur of the moment decision, if I'm being honest. I watched your boat leave the dock and I was umm...I was crying...I didn't want you to go. And I knew that if I let you go, I might never see you again, even though you promised and I trusted you. So I went home and I grabbed what I could carry and left a note for my family and I followed your boat. Got lost and distracted a fair number of times and when I finally reached this bay, I was tired cause I hadn't slept and I didn't know if you were even here and I just kinda slept in a cove for a day or two. And I had these really weird dreams about the flower you gave me, which was in my bag safely...I didn't want it to get ruined. But in the dreams, they kept telling me to go to the beach and find you. I didn't even know if you were here, but I decided I had to try, and I knew the only way you'd recognize me was if I had the flower. So I went and I thought I saw you on the beach but I didn't want to just show up and scare the living hell out of some humans so I waited.”

“And the flower? How did you figure out what it did?” I asked, prompting him to go on as he snuggled closer to me, closing his eyes.

“M'not sure. I actually didn't know that it did anything. I just couldn't wave and hold it at the same time, and I just tucked it behind my ear and then I couldn't swim. I've never felt that scared before and I tried to stay above water, but I couldn't make my legs work. And then I tried to breathe under water and as it turns out, humans can't really do that...” He rolled his eyes and I had to suppress a laugh at his frustration that humans didn't have gills. “So I just...I got stuck and all I can remember thinking was that if it really was you, that you'd come rescue me, and then there you were. I don't remember much after that, but...thank you, Lou. For saving me.”

“Of course. I wasn't gonna let the...I mean, how could I let you drown? I'd miss you too much.” I stumbled over my words, having almost said something that was definitely not appropriate for this point in our relationship, if we even had one. But that conversation would have to wait, because I could smell food and Harry apparently smelled it too, because he lifted his head and sniffed carefully at the air.

“That smells amazing!” He said in awe, and I made to stand up, offering Harry my hands. He hesitated but took them and used me to pull himself to his feet. I walked backwards in front of him, helping him walk basically on his own, and even though he was still extremely hesitant and clumsy (in the most adorable way), he managed to make it to the kitchen without falling, and as he took a seat at the table, he looked extremely pleased with himself. As I settled down next to him, I thought a bit about what he had just told me about the flower. If that is what gave him legs, then why hadn't it happened the moment I gave it to him? Why only when he put it in his hair? And what would happen if he took it out?

Niall and Lottie brought plates to the table and set them down before us, going to get drinks. Harry looked down at all of the food and gaped, looking up at me in awe. “You guys eat all of this just for one meal?”

“Yeah, usually. Sorry if it's a bit much, we just...we get hungry here,” I explained, and he smiled, blowing a strand of hair out of his face. I reached over to the counter and grabbed one of Lottie's hair ties, standing up and moving behind Harry. “Gonna get your hair out of your face. I'll have Lottie teach you how to do this later, yeah?”

Harry didn't move a muscle as I gathered his lovely thick curls in my hands and tied them in a loose bun on top of his head, trying very hard not to run my fingers through his hair. I made sure that the water lily stayed tucked in Harry's hair, wrapping a curl around it so that it didn't fall out. We didn't need to find out what would happen then at the breakfast table. Harry felt it with his hands and then looked innocently at me, a few loose curls in both brown and color fell around his face.

“Does it look okay?” He asked, and I blushed, nodding.

“You look lovely, Hazza. C'mon now, try the food. I hope you like it.”

 

***

We finished breakfast, which had been spent mostly with Harry loving the food and not only asking for seconds, but thirds as well. Niall was a little too excited about this...this meant he would have someone to eat with all the time. Lottie had lots of questions and luckily, Harry didn't mind answering them all. He was definitely warming up to them, talking in a louder voice and smiling. I just sat back and watched, keeping a hand on Harry's knee to comfort him. He eventually slid his hand on top of mine and played with my fingers a little bit under the table, causing me to blush and Niall to smirk.

We stood up so that I could go get changed and sneak some kisses with Harry before heading out onto the beach, and Harry was doing pretty well walking down the hallway until a ball of fur came streaking out of nowhere and passed right between his feet, causing him to let out a high pitched squeak of surprise and fear and trip over his own feet. I caught him around the waist and hauled him back into a standing position. He was shaking a little bit and biting his lip, and I tried so hard not to laugh.

“It's alright, Hazza, it's just Jamie. She's friendly, I promise.” Harry shrank into me as Jamie came forward towards his feet, and I realized that he had probably never seen a cat before. “It's called a cat, if you wanted to know. I promise, she won't hurt you.”

Jamie came close and sniffed at Harry's toes, and Harry flinched backwards, holding onto me, but he allowed the cat to continue rubbing against his feet, standing as still as he could and holding his breath. Jamie meowed loudly and then nipped playfully at Harry's ankles.

“Hey, Jamie, don't bite,” I reprimanded as Harry whimpered a little in fear and clung to me for dear life. “Harry, love, she's just playing. I think she smells the sea on you...” Harry swallowed and nodded in understanding, still looking terrified and making my arm go numb with how tight he was holding onto me.

Jamie moved her head closer again and licked Harry's ankle gently, which made him giggle and press his face into my neck. Fuck, he was so endearing, I just wanted to cuddle him and hold him in my arms and never let go. Harry slowly released me and knelt down, reaching his hand out to Jamie. She hesitated and sniffed carefully before moving her entire head under Harry's hand and purring loudly. Harry smiled fondly and scratched her head, and I just stood there, admiring him. His legs, despite never having seen sunlight, were lightly tan and his thighs were extremely soft looking, the pale skin peeking out from under the short jean shorts I had given him. His back was well muscled and his hair was escaping his bun, and in that moment, I couldn't imagine anything more beautiful.

I headed towards my room, leaving Harry sitting on the floor and playing with the cat, and pulled on trunks and a tank, like yesterday. I sat down on my bed and the sudden reality of everything that had happened in the past 15 hours hit me full force. I put my face in my hands and groaned softly, feeling tears of all sorts of emotions pricking in the corners of my eyes. Harry was here. He was walking around my house like a human, a clumsy one, but a human still, and he didn't seem to be leaving any time soon. But that was just it. Harry couldn't stay here...he had his family to think about, and he couldn't stay human forever...that flower would definitely die at some point and then he'd be confined to the ocean and I'd be confined to land, and I couldn't see it working, no matter which way I looked at it. I wanted to be with him. I wanted him to be my boyfriend and I wanted to treat him and show him around and take him out to eat human food and play music for him and do so many things...but I just didn't know if I could do all that, knowing that it might end up falling apart in the end.

“Lou, are you alright?” A soft voice reached my ears and I looked up. Harry was standing pigeon-toed in the doorway, holding onto the frame for a little support. I forced a smile and wiped my eyes, but Harry had already seen, and he made his way as swiftly as he could across the room and to the bed, settling down next to me and hugging me. “What's wrong? Don't be sad, please, I don't know how to make you feel better...” he whispered, and I turned to peck his cheek lightly.

“M'fine, Haz. Just thinking is all.”

“Well, don't think if it makes you sad. I don't want you to be sad, it makes me sad.”

I let out a watery laugh and turned to face Harry, whose eyebrows were pulled together in concern and whose eyes were wide and pleading.

“We can talk about it some other time, alright? Don't want to ruin our day with sad talk. C'mon, let's go to the beach. We have some things to test, don't we?”

Harry nodded and leaned in, brushing his nose gently against mine before kissing me softly, his plump lips moving and sucking gently on mine until I parted them and he slipped his tongue between them, tasting me. I hummed happily and tangled my tongue with his, which caused his lips to turn up in a smile and therefore prevented us from getting any real kissing done. I pulled back and leaned my forehead against his.

“I...I umm...” I stuttered, not sure if I should say it out loud, but Harry took care of it for me.

“I love you, Lou. So much. I know it hasn't been a long time but I...I feel this connection with you, something that I've only ever heard about in stories, and I need you to know that.” Harry leaned in and placed a kiss to my lips, his eyes wide and waiting for my response.

“I love you too, Haz.” I moved my hands around to the back of his neck, tugging on his bun until his curls spilled down his shoulders. “And your hair...I like that too.”

Harry giggled and we just sat there for a minute, our lips touching in very gentle kisses until there was a knock on the window that made us both jump. Niall and Lottie were watching from the other side, faces pressed against the glass. I rolled my eyes at them and Harry giggled.

“Are they always like that with you?” He asked as I stood up, preparing to head outside.

“Yeah, pretty much. You'll get used to them, I hope. C'mon, love.”

I offered him my hand and he took it, pressing a kiss to the back of it before standing on his own and leading me towards the door, lightly tugging on my hand.

 

***

“Okay, so walking on sand isn't as easy as a flat floor, just so you know,” I told Harry as we walked slowly down the stairs to the beach. Harry was doing surprisingly well on the stairs, a smile firmly in place on his face and his curls bouncing. I jumped the last few stairs and hit the sand, cringing only a little as it got between my toes. You'd think that after all the time I spent in the water and on the beach, I wouldn't mind sand, but it drove me absolutely crazy when it got between my toes.

“How hard can sand be? I live in the ocean, I basically live in sand and water,” Harry responded, coming down the last few steps and stepping into the sand. I raised my eyebrows at him as he smiled in triumph, staring to walk towards me. He gave a sudden yelp and fell flat on his face, the sand moving under his feet, and I bit down hard on my lip so that I wouldn't laugh.

“I did warn you, did I not?” I asked, my tone more amused than I had intended, and all I got in response was a muffled groan from Harry as he pushed himself upright and brushed off his face. He pulled himself to his feet and reached for my hand, which I took, leading him slowly to where Niall and Lottie were building an epic sand castle.

“Ah, look who finally decided to stop sucking face and join us,” Niall joked, and I made a face at him. Lottie looked up and scrunched her nose.

“You're gross, Lou.”

Harry barked out a loud laugh and clapped his hand to his mouth, muffling his giggles.

“C'mon, Haz, let's get in the water. Leave these two weirdos to do whatever it is they do.”

“Hey!” I heard both of them protest, but I had already turned my back to them, heading for the water and stripping off my shirt. I turned to see Harry staring at me, and I gave him a wink before wading into the chilly water, going up to my waist and waiting for him. Harry was struggling to get his shorts off, trying to step out of them and falling in the process. I felt my face get warm and I smiled softly, watching him as he pushed himself back to his feet, only in boxers now and not seeming to care that he was practically bulging the boxers, even without being hard. He came hurrying towards the water, looking like a newborn deer, and waded in, his eyes closing and his face becoming the picture of relaxation.

“I missed the water...feels so good to be back,” he said as he came towards me slowly. I could feel a wave pulling at the water and I tried to warn Harry, but it was too late. The wave hit Harry in the chest and pushed him backwards. He fell onto his bum as the water washed over him, soaking his hair, and he sat there, a pout on his lips. I waded towards him, reaching out to brush his wet hair out of his eyes.

“Stupid waves. Never had an issue when I had a tail,” Harry grumbled, still pouting, and I leaned over to kiss the pout off of his lips. He tried to kiss back but I pulled away, making him pout even more. “Lou, come back!”

“Ah, ah, ah...not until you stand up and join me. C'mon, love, it's not as hard as you think. And then we can go for a swim if you'd like. Or lay out in the sun.” I encouraged, backing away a little and waiting for him to stand up. He stuck his tongue out at me, brushed his hair behind his ears, and got to his feet, stumbling only a little as he came towards me. I kept backing up until the water reached my nipples, and Harry kept coming until his chest was touching mine.

“This far enough, Lou?” He asked, his breath fanning over my cheeks and making them turn pink. I nodded, incapable of saying anything intelligent with him that close to me. He bit his lip and I felt my breath catch in my chest. “Can I kiss you?” His voice was soft and deep and it took me a second to actually respond to him.

“Yeah...course...you don't have to ask...” I breathed, and he cupped my cheeks in his hands, fitting his lips with mine. He kissed like he talked: slow and gentle but deeply and passionately, and I definitely couldn't get enough of him. The waves moved slowly around us as we stood there, wrapped in each other and the moment. I could feel Harry starting to get more into the kiss, his kisses becoming more forceful, and I knew that this could turn into a full-blown make out session. Not that I didn't want that, but we did have things to do and I really was curious, even though I also really wanted to kiss him some more.

“Hazza...mmm, love, we should...try the flower thing...” I mumbled against his lips, and he pulled back reluctantly.

“I know. I just...I like kissing you, Lou.”

I cracked a smile and dove away from him suddenly into the water. I could hear him complaining above the surface and I chuckled to myself before popping up ten feet away. “Come get me, Haz.”

Harry dove after me enthusiastically and came back up, spluttering and gasping. I could only guess that he was flailing his legs, trying to figure out how to work them, but he seemed very determined. He moved his arms and pushed forward through the water a bit, and the hint of a grin made his dimples pop out. He tried again and again until he was moving steadily towards me, however slowly. He reached me and I placed my hands on his waist gently, trying to hold both of us up by kicking.

“You figured it out, I see,” I said with a joking tone, and Harry rolled his eyes.

“Legs aren't that hard, I just am used to a tail, okay? Legs don't move as fast. I want to be fast again.”

I leaned in and rubbed my nose against his playfully. “Well, then, let's see if it works.” I reached up carefully and plucked the water lily from his hair. It was still in perfect condition, which I didn't fully understand, but that didn't matter. The moment the flower left contact with Harry's curls, he gave a small squeak and then ducked under the water, coming back up with a huge smile.

“I've got my tail back!”

I smiled like an idiot as Harry dove into the water, his bright tail flashing in the sun, and I looked back at the shore. Lottie had her eyes fixed on us, and even from this distance I could see the look of awe on her face.

Harry came swimming back to me, pecking me on the lips and smiling.

“Lottie seems very...interested in your tail,” I commented, nodding towards the beach and Harry looked around before looking back at me.

“We can go and show her. No one is around, so I doubt they would see if I sat in shallow water.”

“Sure, love. Let's do that. She'll be so excited.”

Harry and I made our way back to the shore, and Harry settled in about a foot of water, while I walked onto the shore and towards Lottie, the water lily still clutched safely in my hand. I didn't want to risk losing it.

“Hey, Lots. Harry says it's okay if you go and look at his tail, if you want.” I said, toweling my hair dry and coming up from the towel with it sticking all over the place. Niall smirked as Lottie stood up and took my hand.

“Looking good, Tommo. Definite boyfriend material right there.”

“Oh shut up, Niall,” I shot back at him, leading Lottie to the water. Harry was sitting in the sand and water, completely content and looking at his own tail, his fins waving in the small waves of water.

“Hey, Lottie! Don't be afraid...you can come touch it. It's not scary,” Harry said kindly to Lottie, who was looking extremely hesitant to venture out into the water. She let my hand go and walked slowly towards Harry, sitting down in front of him with her mouth wide open as she stared at him.

“You...you're real...” she looked back at me, almost for confirmation, and I nodded.

“Yes, I'm one hundred percent real.” Harry giggled, and Lottie reached out, poking Harry's tail with a finger. She gasped and put her whole hand on it, feeling the scales under her fingers.

“Wow...” she whispered, and Harry smiled at her fondly, letting her touch all the way up and down his tail and even his fins. The green and purple and pink colors shimmered under the water, matching perfectly with the strands of curls hanging loosely around his shoulders. He was just so fucking beautiful and he looked so innocent, his big green eyes lit up with happiness as he let a giggling Lottie play with his tail.

“He seems like a keeper, doesn't he?” Niall whispered in my ear, and I jumped, not knowing that he had even come up behind me.

“What?” I asked, not really having heard his question, being too focused on Harry.

“Harry. Good boyfriend material. Seems really sweet and he's good with your sister and all that. Have you guys talked about it yet?”

I shook my head, toeing at the sand and pressing my lips together.

“I didn't know how to bring it up to him. We just...I'm so happy when I'm around him, I've never felt like this before with anyone and you know that. But he can't just...stay human forever. He has a family, a family that he left, mind you, to come find me.”

“But that's just it...he left his family for you. He wanted to be with you, Lou. I don't know much about how mermaids and love works, but this certainly looks like it and I'd hate to see you lose out on what could quite possibly be the best thing that's ever happened to you.”

I bit my lip, not really knowing how to respond to that. Niall was right, and I knew he was, and I wanted to be with Harry. But I would give him the option. He had every right to want to leave and I was not about to keep him here for my own selfish reasons.

“We'll talk about it later,” I muttered, turning as a loud splash reached my ears. I turned to see Lottie laughing hysterically, her hair dripping wet, and Harry's eyes poking above the water a way out to sea, his eyes sparkling with silent laughter. Niall nudged me and I just hummed, letting him know he had my attention.

“You're so fucking gone for him, I swear. It's like you're made of putty and you just melt every time he does something. Well go on then...go out and get him. I'll take Lottie shopping or something. Go!”

I hugged Niall, picking him up off his feet, and then sprinted out to the water, diving in and following Harry as he headed out for the buoy. We technically weren't supposed to swim that far, but I'd be fine as long as I had Harry with me. He popped up next to the buoy, waiting for me, and I swam towards him, my muscles starting to feel tired already.

“Louis!” Harry cried when I reached him, hugging me around the waist and nuzzling into my neck. I held onto him and laid my head down on his shoulder just resting and letting the sun warm my face.

“Haz, what are we doing all the way out here?” I asked curiously, only now realizing that I really didn't know why we were here of all places. Harry tugged me around the buoy so that we were blocked from view and then swam off. I sighed and followed him quickly. He swam so fucking fast it was nearly impossible to catch up, and I kept following until I rounded a corner and found Harry swimming in circles, a small cave up ahead. I had only explored it once or twice, since it was so far out, but I knew that no one really knew about this place. I swam through the opening and pulled myself up onto the sandy shore inside. Harry was still in the water, watching me.

“Lou...can I have the flower back?” He asked timidly, and I handed it to him. He tucked it securely behind his ear, and a moment later was pulling himself up next to me, thankfully with Niall's boxers still on.

“So...why did you bring me here?” I asked again, and Harry giggled, brushing his hair behind his ear and pulling himself closer to me.

“Umm...I kinda wanted to be alone with you...” Harry muttered, blushing. I felt color creeping into my cheeks as well and I swallowed, not exactly sure where this was about to go, but wanting it, wanting everything with him, no matter where or when it happened.

“Well...you've got me alone now...what are you gonna do, love?” I asked, and he moved his face closer to mine.

“Kiss you...”

I moved in before he could, tangling my fingers in his long curls and molding my lips to his. He sighed into my mouth and immediately parted his lips so that I could slip my tongue between them. It got heated more quickly this time, and the only sound in the cave that could be heard was the occasional smack as our lips parted.

“Lou...” Harry moaned softly against my lips and, as much as I had been trying to hold it back, I felt myself go a bit hard. My grip on his hair got a bit tighter and he whimpered, pulling back and looking horrified.

“What...did I do something wrong?” I panicked, but Harry shook his head, looking down at himself in complete confusion, and I understood. “Oh...”

I didn't know what to say. Of course Harry had to get hard at some point, but I had definitely not expected it to be right now, in a cave, on our first day after being reunited.

“What...is it supposed to do this?” Harry asked me, moving his hand down towards himself as though to touch himself. He brushed his fingers against the slight bulge in the boxers and his face crumpled with pleasure. “Holy fucking shit...”

“Haz...yes it's supposed to do that. Feels good, right?” I said breathlessly, watching as he continued to touch himself in awe. I really couldn't do this right now...I was about to combust from holding back.

“Yeah...so good...” His eyes were half shut and I really couldn't watch this any longer. I caught hold of his wrist, being careful not to touch him, and stopped him. He looked up at me, his eyes a bit glassy and wider than I had ever seen them.

“If you keep doing that, you'll have me coming in my pants. I'll umm...I'll show you how sometime, alright? But you don't want to do that here.”

Harry nodded, respectfully putting his hands behind his back and biting his lip. I kissed him gently and crawled back to the water. “The cold water will help it go down if it hurts, okay?”

He followed me into the water, squeaking as his bottom half sank below the surface, but after a few minutes, he seemed to be alright. He handed me back the flower and I felt the water move with the powerful swish of his tail.

“I...I've never felt like that before...” He admitted, chewing away at his bottom lip and tugging on a curl nervously.

“I'm quite honored that you had your first human boner with me,” I replied, kissing his cheek, and he grinned.

“Is that what it's called? That's so weird, cause like...there aren't bones in it, are there? Like, what if they broke? That would hurt like hell. That doesn't make any sense does it? I am rambling again, please tell me to shut up...”

I kissed him long and hard and then pulled back, watching as he came out of a kind of daze. “Did that work for you?” I whispered, and he nodded, leaning back in to kiss me again.

 

***

We spent a good hour or two in the cave, just talking about small things and learning about each other all over again. Harry stayed in his mermaid form, and I had a feeling he was more comfortable with that anyway, considering what had just happened. Or maybe this way he wasn't tempted. I really wasn't sure. After a while though, he said he missed the sun and I suggested we go back and lay out for a bit, and he seemed to like that idea a lot, so we swam back together. Once we were within sight of the beach, Harry pulled the flower out from behind my ear, where I had been keeping it, and tucked it in his curls, holding my hand as he changed back, and I swam with him slowly to the shore, helping him to his feet as we walked back to our towels.

Harry and I both flopped down on our stomachs, breathing a bit heavy from all the swimming. We were quiet until we caught our breath, and then I reached over and started drawing shapes on Harry's back. Harry hummed in response and asked me more questions, and we sat there for a while longer, discussing the differences between relationships with mermaids and relationships with humans.

“But how can you just...move right along from one person to the other?” Harry asked, giggling and shrinking away as I tickled him lightly.

“I'm not sure. Some can't. Some stay hung up on their pasts forever and it gets bad for them, but a lot of people are kind of slutty and just go around fucking people. And then you have Niall, who can get the girls to like him but not to fuck him...he's a strange one, Nialler.”

“What about you, though?” Harry rolled over and sat up, looking at me very seriously. I hesitated before answering.

“I...well, I never really, umm...I didn't believe in love for a long time. I didn't think anyone would want me. I had one relationship in the past and even though it ended pretty well, it still hurt a lot, because I liked him for so long. It's like losing a part of you and no matter how hard you try to pretend that you're okay, there's always gonna be that empty part of you that longs for them. And I didn't think that true love really existed after that, because I thought he was it, and he left me. But then...then I met you.”

Harry looked up at that, his eyes wide with surprise, and I smiled, touching his cheek gently.

“I don't know what exactly we have, or what you want it to be, but I do know that I love being around you and that you make me happy and I want to spend time with you and kiss you...I want everything with you, and I never thought that would happen again.”

Harry moved off his towel and onto mine, holding me around the waist carefully and looking deep into my eyes. “That's exactly what I want. Mermaids don't get too many chances to fall in love, and I don't care if you're human or donkey or fish or any of that...I really like you and I...I want to try this. I want to be your boyfriend, if you'll have me. Was that too forward? It probably was, I'm sorry, I'm just...”

“Don't worry about it...I was going to ask anyway. So yes, I'd love to have you as a boyfriend, Hazza.” I replied, and the way his face lit up was enough for me. I pecked his lips and stood up, offering a hand to him. He took it and stood, and then took time to carefully pull on his shorts over his now dry boxers.

“Let's go in and get some food...I think it's time my parents knew who I was secretly keeping hidden in my bedroom.”

“You...you want me to meet your parents?” Harry asked, astonished, and I nodded slowly.

“Yeah...why, do you not want to?”

“No, of course I do, it's just...with mermaids, you don't meet the parents unless you're getting married,” Harry replied timidly, and I laughed.

“Well, in mermaid land, consider me your fiance. C'mon, they are going to love you.”

 

***

“Mum, Mark, this is Harry. He's a...friend of mine, he just moved here and needed a place to stay so I offered...I hope that's okay.”

“Of course it is, honey. Hello, Harry. I'm Jay, and it's wonderful to have you with us,” my mum said, pulling Harry into a tight hug, which he reciprocated, rather surprised. Mark shook his hand and we all sat down to eat. Harry and I both decided that, for now, we wouldn't tell my parents that we were actually dating, in case something were to go wrong or in the case that they weren't okay with my boyfriend staying in my room. I was 20, after all, but I was sure that my parents had some sort of rule against that...they definitely had when I was 17.

The conversation at dinner was great, mostly because my mum didn't ask too many personal questions. We were already slightly lying by saying that Harry moved here recently and that he was a friend, and I really didn't need to come up with a whole other set of lies to cover up the fact that he was actually a mermaid. Lottie, thank god, kept her mouth shut and didn't say anything. Niall had gone home when my parents had arrived, saying he promised to have dinner with his family, since his brother was coming home.

After dinner, Harry and I headed back to my room, exhausted from the day and wanting to sleep. Harry was even more clumsy than usual in his tired state, stumbling into the room and almost missing the bed as he flopped down on it, yawning.

“You tired, love?” I asked, yawning myself and pulling off my now dry swimming trunks, and he nodded.

“Really sleepy...will you cuddle with me, Lou?” He asked, sounding small, and how could I say no to that? I smiled and sat down on the bed next to him.

“Yes, of course, but you need to get those shorts off first, and some new boxers...those look a bit tight and they are probably full of sand since you swam in them.”

Harry sat up and immediately pulled them both down at the same time. I had enough sense to get up and find him some of my old boxers, making sure they weren't tight or revealing or anything. I threw them over my shoulder and heard him struggling a bit, but when he cleared his throat and I turned around, he was covered and waiting in bed, his eyes drooping with tiredness. I crawled into bed and pulled him to my chest, holding him close. I didn't know why, but he seemed like the little spoon type, the kind of person that wanted to be held. Harry seemed to agree to it at once, snuggling back into me and turning his head slightly to see me. I leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

“Good night, Hazza. Sleep well.”

“G'night, Lou...” Harry mumbled, and within seconds, he was sound asleep in my arms, snoring lightly. I brushed through his hair with my fingers for a moment and then buried my nose in them, closing my eyes and drifting off as well.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to know when I'm updating or you just want to follow a random Larrie on twitter, my twitter is @Dont_Stop_Larry
> 
> Please comment/leave kudos :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took forever again, I'm sorry. Had to take time to decide which parts I wanted to put in this chapter. I hope you guys are liking it so far, I know mermaid!Harry isn't for everyone but just know that I appreciate every single one of you that is following this story and reading the updates! Love you guys!  
> ~L

To my surprise, I had the best night's sleep of my life with Harry in my arms. He was like magic...I always felt good around him and now I had slept properly for the first time in ages...I might just have to keep him.

I didn't fully wake up when Harry started moving around a little, I just held him closer to me and breathed out a sigh against the back of his neck. He smelled so good, even without a shower from the day before, and I had to pause to let my sleepy brain work out whether this was another mermaid thing, always smelling good, or if I was just completely smitten.

It was only when Harry started whimpering that I cracked an eye open, blinking quite a bit in the sliver of sunlight streaming through the gap in the curtains. I was very groggy from having slept so long, and I wasn't fully with it as I tried to speak.

“Mm...Hazza...back t'sleep...too early...”

“Lou...”

Harry's voice came in a pleading whisper, and my eyes were suddenly wide open, my brain trying to catch up as I moved a bit away from him to get a better look at the scene before me. Harry was biting his lip, looking almost terrified, his eyes wide enough for me to see the small sliver of green surrounding his dilated pupils. My brain comprehending faster now, I scaled my eyes down Harry's body until they reached the point where Harry's fists were clenched right over his tenting boxers, which was clear even under the blanket covering his lower half. I looked at Harry and he stared back at me. I could see his hands shaking a little, trying in vain not to touch himself. It was too early in the morning for this.

“Harry, how did you...”

“Lou, I don't know what happened, I just...I woke up and I was...how do you say it? Hard?”

I inwardly groaned. How had I forgotten to mention the concept of morning wood to Harry? This was going to be interesting.

“Love, sometimes when you're asleep, your body reacts without you knowing...your subconscious is thinking of something that turns you on and you get hard in your sleep. It's called morning – omfph...”

I didn't even have time to finish explaining before Harry had turned to face me, grabbed my face in his hands, and smashed his lips onto mine. He frantically kissed me, his tongue sliding over my lips and into my mouth as I parted my lips. If Harry was this needy every morning, I was definitely going to die, no question about it. Harry rutted his hips against my thigh, making me go slightly hard, and I tried to suppress a moan. It was too late to stop now...might as well throw in a bit of education while we were here.

“Haz...love, just relax, alright? I'm going to teach you how to take care of it, yeah?”

Harry stopped moving, his hips still making tiny circles to grind into my thigh, his bottom lip pushing out in a pout.

“It hurts, Lou. Really hurts...please help me...” He pleaded, his eyes even wider than before, and how could I resist a face like that?

Still not fully awake, but pretty much there, I pulled myself flush against him and kissed him again, not giving any thoughts to morning breath or the fact that my door was not locked and anyone could walk in.

“Thank God I closed the curtains, otherwise Niall would be pressing his face against the glass right now,” I mumbled, and Harry giggled, his giggle turning into a high moan of pleasure as I rubbed against him, now almost as hard as he was.

“Hazza, can I touch you?” I asked. I knew that it was what he wanted, but I had to at least check that he really wanted it. I was never going to force anything on him, even if he begged. He had to be completely sure that he was comfortable with it before I'd do anything.

“Louis, please. Please touch me. I want you to,” Harry replied earnestly, and I nodded. I slipped my hand below the blanket and slowly palmed Harry outside his boxers. Harry's high pitched moans echoed a bit around the room as I rubbed him gently. Holy fuck, he was huge. Like...shit. I closed my eyes for a second, very overwhelmed in that moment and slightly put off, knowing that I wasn't quite as big as he was. But that was a thought for another time.

“Un...Under, Louis. Want to feel your hand on me...please...” Harry begged, sealing our lips together feverishly, and I slowly slipped my hand under the waistband of his boxers, curling my fingers around his cock. Harry bit down on my lower lip, letting out a low groan that got lost in my mouth. Precome had already started sliding down his cock, leaving a small wet spot on his boxers, but it saved me the trouble of getting lube or spitting on him, neither of which I wanted to do for his first hand job. I rubbed my thumb over his head, gliding down his shaft with his own precome. The noises coming from his mouth were ones I had never heard before, but they were making me harder by the second, and I had to concentrate on going slow on Harry and not coming myself.

“Oh...fucking hell, Louis, it's...it feels...” Harry whimpered, but I shut him up with a kiss, continuing to tug at him slowly. Harry's hands were clinging to me, holding my arms for dear life as he started slowly thrusting into my hand, needing more. This had to mean he was close, or I guessed as much. I went a little faster, kissing him and comforting him.

“You're doing so well, Harry. Taking it so well...you're so lovely...” I mumbled into his ear, sucking on the spot just below it and nipping at the skin lightly. Harry squirmed under me, panting and whining.

“Lou, fuck, I...” Harry gasped, his body writhing under my touch now. His voice sounded very confused but aroused all the same, and I knew he was definitely right on the cusp of coming. Fuck, this was going to be his first orgasm. I shushed him and pecked his lips.

“It's alright, Hazza. It's supposed to feel like this...just let go...don't hold back...gonna make you feel good, I promise.”

Harry nodded, thrusting further into my hand, and I could hear the slick noises coming from under the blanket. Harry's breath hitched and then with a low moan, he was coming for the first time, his warm come spilling over my fist and into his boxers. His body shuddered as I jerked him slowly through it, holding him close and kissing his face everywhere. His eyes were squeezed shut but his face looked like utter bliss, like he had never felt this good in his life.

I felt my own dick twitch, and I was surprised that I hadn't come in my pants just from Harry's noises and the feeling of his cock in my hand. I pulled my hand slowly off of Harry, wiping it on my own boxers and cuddling Harry to my chest as he came down. He finally opened his eyes and looked at me in awe.

“That...that was...”

“Amazing?” I asked, my voice sounding strained because of how badly I needed to come. Fuck, I had only known Harry for about two weeks and we had already done sexual things.

Harry moved himself closer to me and his leg brushed against my swollen cock, still tucked in my boxers. “Lou, you need it too. Whatever that was, you need it.”

“It's alright, Haz. I'll just go to the bathroom and...”

“No. I wanna do it.”

I looked right at him, shock written all over my face. Harry saw it too cause he giggled, hiding his face behind his hands.

“You're really cute when you're surprised. I'm serious, though. Wanna try it. Please?”

I considered this option. Harry didn't have a clue what he was doing, and that could lead to him not stimulating me correctly and me going soft on him, which would make him disappointed, and I couldn't bear to see him pout like that. And I really just needed to come, and Harry was so caring and eager to please...

“Yeah...yeah, okay,” I answered back in a low whisper, and Harry nodded, kissing me gently and moving his hand over my boxers, where he knew my cock was resting tucked against my hip. He touched it carefully with his fingertips and a shudder ran through my whole body...the thought of having Harry's big but delicate hand on me was almost too much, and I almost blew my load at the very thought. I nodded, telling him it was okay to go on, and he gently touched his whole palm to my erection. I thrust into his hand lightly, not able to help it, and Harry almost melted as his hand molded around my cock. He brushed his fingers against it for another minute or so, and then toyed with the waistband of my boxers, nervous. I leaned in and brushed my lips against his ear, kissing all the way to his lips and sucking on the bottom one gently. “Go ahead, love.”

Harry smiled a little bit and slipped his hand into my boxers, getting his fingers wrapped around me, and I let out a noise that I definitely had never made before. His hand was warm and tight around my cock and I felt very light headed as he started stroking up and down, just as I had done.

“Is it good, Lou?” He asked, still going tantalizingly slow, and I nodded furiously, not sure if I was able to speak without moaning. Harry sped up a little, twisting his wrist in a way that I definitely hadn't shown him, but it seemed to be him testing the waters, and it felt so good that I didn't even have time to warn him before I came. Harry flinched as the come hit his hand but he kept stroking me until I had gone soft and was whimpering from overstimulation.

“Harry...fuck, are you sure you've never given a hand job before?” I asked as I lay there, panting from the force of my orgasm. Harry shook his head, curls of all lengths and colors falling into his eyes, still mussed up from sleep. The water lily, completely undamaged, was still tucked safely around his ear, making the green of his eyes stand out. “Well, you're a fucking natural then...that was the best hand job I've ever had.” Harry flushed with pleasure and brushed his hair behind his ears, looking sheepishly at me. I leaned up and kissed him, pulling him down to me, and he came easily, still pliant from his own orgasm.

“Really??” Harry asked eagerly, and I nodded, pecking his forehead. His smile was so wide and he was so pleased with himself that I couldn't help but laugh and bury my face in his curls.

“When you two are done flirting and doing whatever else caused you to make so much noise this early in the morning, breakfast is ready,” said a voice, and we both jumped turning to see my mum standing in the doorway. I blushed furiously...my mum knew exactly what had been going on in here, I could see it on her face, but for once she wasn't saying anything or making fun of me. Her eyes were soft, almost like the fond look I gave Harry, and she left with a wink.

“Gotta get up and get showered, Hazza...we're kind of a mess.”

Harry peered under the blankets, more out of curiosity than anything, and squeaked, dropping it back down.

“Is it supposed to look like that? And get like...all dry?”

Harry's ignorance on how the male human body worked was just so fascinating and adorable that I couldn't even be bothered to contain my laugh, which made him pout, and ultimately made him cuter.

“Yes, love. That's what happens. Worth it though, right?”

“Oh, fuck yeah. If I could do that all day, I definitely would,” Harry said bluntly, and I blushed, hiding in the blanket.

Harry threw the blanket off and stood up, shifting a bit uncomfortably in his soiled boxers, and I followed suit, kissing his shoulder as he steadied himself.

“How bout you go get a shower and I'll go talk to my mum about getting some money...we need to buy you some clothes of your own. And underwear, and just...yeah, all that.”

“Okay, sounds good, Lou. Can Niall come?” I looked at him, slightly confused. He wanted Niall with us? “Just because I think he's nice and it's cool to have human friends...” Harry added hastily, and that pulled a smile onto my face.

“Yeah, course he can. I'll call him then. Shower for you, love. Here's some clean boxers, and you can wear the shorts from yesterday if you'd like. And pick out whatever shirt you want.”

I lead Harry to the bathroom, showing him how the shower worked, and pecked him gently on the lips before heading to the kitchen, where my mum was reading the paper at the kitchen table, smirking.

“So...” she drew out the word as I walked to the fridge, pulling out some juice and pouring it into a cup. I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling like an idiot and just popped some toast into the toaster, not looking at her.

“So...what?” I asked back, keeping my voice as even as possible. She put her paper down and looked at me more intensely until I met her eyes, keeping my face as pleasantly unconcerned as I could.

“Well the weather is nice today...and Lottie is out with friends, so you don't have to look after her today, and Harry is here...haha, I got you.” She smiled triumphantly as, with the mention of Harry's name, a smile exploded onto my face, my cheeks turning just a little bit pink. “So, what's going on with you and Harry?”

“Nothing much...he's sweet, and he's really nice and he smells really good...” My mum held back a laugh at the apparent look on my face, and I threw a bit of toast at her, which she dodged easily.

“He's more than just a friend, though. That much is obvious,” she continued and I sighed, nodding.

“He's my boyfriend. Yeah...I just...I really really like him, Mum. He's so innocent and full of life, I just want to cuddle him and kiss him all the time. He makes me feel like I have butterflies in my stomach, and that's so cliché but it's true...I've never felt this way about anyone and sometimes I just...” I didn't really know how to word what I was feeling without letting slip all of the secrets about Harry that I was keeping, especially the most important one. “I'm scared about how much I feel for him. I don't want to lose him...I don't know if I could deal with losing him, and that scares the fuck out of me,” I admitted, and though my mum pursed her lips at my language, she seemed to understand.

“Love is scary, Lou. And don't you dare say it isn't love because what you just described to me can't be anything else. If you talk to anyone about how you feel, talk to Harry. I'm sure he would understand and help put your mind to rest. But for now, I'd say enjoy it. Embrace being in love, because honestly, it's the most wonderful feeling in the world.” Her face had gone soft, and I could only imagine that she was thinking about Mark as she spoke. My dad had been a dick, and that was putting it nicely. Mark had healed her broken heart, and I honestly couldn't ask for a better step-dad.

“I...I talked to him. And we both agreed that our feelings are strong and we want to try this. There's just...certain things that could get in the way.” I chose my words carefully, doing the little dance around the obvious (to me, anyway) elephant in the room. My mum just nodded and leaned over to peck my cheek as I shoved some toast in my mouth.

“Whatever choice you make, I know it will be the right one. It's obvious that you care a lot about him, and you deserve to be happy.” She stood and folded the paper. “I'll be in at work all day again. If you could pick Lottie up around five and then order something for dinner that would be great.”

I nodded, finishing off the last of my toast with a swig of juice as I heard the shower turn off. Wanting to make sure that Harry didn't fall, I tossed back the rest of my juice and headed back to the bathroom, knocking on the door softly. It opened at once, and I was greeted with a wet Harry, a towel wrapped loosely around his tiny waist. His curls were everywhere and he had a triumphant smile on his face.

“So, how was your first shower?” I asked, looping my arms around his waist and pulling him close to me. There was no one in the house right now and that realization hit me, so I pulled him even closer, starting to suck lightly at his throat. Harry let out a high whine and tilted his head back.

“It...was successful,” he answered breathlessly, and I pulled back. I wasn't sure if I wanted to mark him up this early into our relationship, and even though he seemed disappointed at the loss of contact, he didn't complain.

“I'm gonna grab one myself...feel free to find any shirt you want, I'll be out in a few. Won't take long, and then I'll call Niall.” Harry nodded, leaning down a bit to kiss me, but I pulled back, making him pout. “After, love.” Turns out I liked to tease a little bit, and Harry seemed to like it, judging by the redness of his cheeks as he walked away towards my room.

I jumped in the shower after stripping down, rubbing body wash everywhere to somewhat get rid of the smell of salt water. I loved the ocean, but I didn't like smelling like it.

Ten minutes later, I was in boxers, toweling my hair dry and brushing my teeth quickly. I was excited to shop with Harry, who had never been shopping or really anywhere on land, and I just wanted to watch his face as he walked around in awe of everything.

I walked out of the bathroom and into my room, and Harry turned to look at me, his curls cascading down over his shoulder as he looked at me through his lashes.

He was on the floor, trying to figure out shoes, wearing the shorts I had given him yesterday and a soft pink button down with white polka dots, which was somehow big on his frame. He had the buttons done only halfway up his chest and he seemed perfectly happy, other than the scowl on his face as he tried to put the shoe on the wrong foot.

“Umm...Haz, you do know that's my mum's shirt, right?” I asked carefully, going towards him to get to my drawers. Harry shrugged, his lip jutting out a little bit.

“I...umm, I like it. Makes me feel pretty. I like things that make me feel pretty.” His answer was blunt but also a bit hesitant, like he knew that boys didn't normally wear womens' clothing and was unsure of how I would react.

I knelt down next to him and cupped his cheeks in my hands, kissing him softly. His lips sucked mine gently before I let him go, standing back up. “You look absolutely gorgeous, Hazza. Whatever makes you comfortable is fine by me.”

Harry grinned and then focused back on his shoes, his tongue poking out and a crease forming between his eyes. I tugged on a random tank top and turned around to see him throwing my shoe in frustration. I pulled on shorts and sat down next to him with a pair of shoes myself and looked at him, nudging his side. He gave me a disgruntled sigh and lay his head on my shoulder.

“I can't figure them out...” He mumbled, turning his head and burying his face in my neck. I tugged on a curl and he looked back up, his eyes going a little wide.

“Here. Wear these. They're called flip flops, and your feet will be much more open to the air, and you might be more comfortable with it. And they are a bit big on me so they will probably fit you really well. I'll wear these.” I took the pair of worn Vans out of his hands gently.

Harry looked a bit put out but took the flip flops from me and I showed him how to put the thong bit between his big and second toe. It took him a few minutes to figure them out, and as he was doing that, I pulled on the Vans, not bothering to put on socks. I never wore socks if I could help it. I stood up and pulled Harry to his feet, pecking his lips a few times and brushing my fingers over the shirt he had on. Even though I had seen my mum wear it countless times, I had to admit that I thought it looked better on Harry. It just really suited him, and made the colorful curls in his hair stand out even more.

“You're beautiful, Hazza,” I whispered, and Harry leaned in to kiss me eagerly. I kissed back, and then realized that I hadn't called Niall yet. I pulled back a little, but Harry chased me, his lips missing my mouth and getting my chin. He then proceeded to latch onto my neck as I hit Niall's number, and I let out a small moan as his teeth brushed my pulse point.

“Hello...Jesus, Lou, did you buttdial me?” Niall's voice came loudly through the phone and Harry giggled into my neck, still licking and sucking lightly on my skin.

“I...fuck...umm, no, I meant to call you. Harry and I are going shopping today, and he wants you to come. Up for it, mate?”

“Yeah, definitely. Sounds like fun. As long as he's not sucking on you like a vampire, then yeah.”

Harry made an obnoxious amount of noise as he sucked harder, nipping at my skin, and I squeaked, the pain just the right amount to start me getting hard.

“Oh, for fuck's sake, you guys are fucking animals. I'll meet you at the store, and none of this, you hear me?” Niall yelled, and hung up. Harry and I both burst into giggles and fell onto the bed, trying to catch our breath. Harry turned his head, his hair fanning out everywhere, and gasped, sitting up and looking concerned.

“What?” I asked, sitting up with him, and he pointed at my neck, pressing his finger down and making me wince a bit.

“I think I hurt you, Lou...” He said in barely a whisper, as though he couldn't even fathom that he could injure someone. I picked up my phone and turned on the front camera, touching my neck where a hickey was starting to form. I swatted him on the arm.

“You didn't hurt me, love. It's just a hickey...like a love bite, really. But seriously? Niall's gonna give me so much shit.”

“You're cute when you're embarrassed though. Your ears get all red and you try to be all macho but inside you're all soft, and I can see it in your eyes. You're a big softie, like me.” Harry replied, smiling and looking down. I ducked my head, cuddling into him and being shy, something I never did, but Harry just brought that side of me out and I couldn't help being like that when I was around him sometimes. On the outside, yeah, I was all wit and snarky comments, but inside, I was just as Harry said...a big softie and a huge romantic who loved watching the Disney movies with my sister and loved sea flowers. No one needed to know, of course, other than Harry.

“C'mon, Haz. Niall is waiting for us. We have some shopping to do.”

 

***

 

As I suspected, the first thing Niall did when we walked up to him was poke at my neck with a smirk.

“Did you try to eat him, Harry? You know that humans aren't food, right?” he teased, and Harry blushed, looking a bit embarrassed. I pecked his cheek lightly and that brought his smile back immediately.

“Don't mess with him, Niall,” I said, and Niall's eyes widened and he coughed into his hand, the cough sounding much like the word _whipped_. I rolled my eyes and laced my fingers through Harry's leading him down the center hall, passing by all of the shops as we went and explaining what each one was for his benefit.

“So most of these stores are for women. Fancy clothes and dresses and suits and things. I do a lot of my shopping in American Eagle, so we can definitely take a stop in there if you'd like. They have pants, shirts, jeans, shorts, underwear, the lot. Down the hall a bit are stores specifically for men, and some hardware stores and stuff like that. Over to the left are the shoe stores, and you'll definitely need shoes. So...where do you want to start?”

I looked up at Harry, who looked back at me with an expression of the utmost confusion, before he pointed at the shoe store and whispered,

“Let's start in there.”

I squeezed his hand and lead him to the shoe store. I let him go as soon as we were inside, letting him choose where he wanted to start. He stood there for a second or two, biting his lip and twirling one of his purple curls around his finger before heading to the aisle with flip flops. Niall and I followed him, looking around casually as Harry gently touched the different models with his fingers, inspecting them.

“But seriously, mate, that hickey is a nice one. How did he even learn how to do that?” Niall asked as soon as we were a safe distance from Harry so that he would hear anything. I rolled my eyes but answered in a whisper,

“He didn't learn. He just did it and then he thought he'd hurt me when he saw what he did. It was fucking adorable.” I smiled at the memory and Niall clapped a hand to his forehead.

“Literally...who are you and what has Harry done to my best friend?”

I laughed and Harry looked up, a pair of flip flops in his hand. He looked uncertain, and I hurried to him, leading him to a bench. “Here, love. You can try them on, see what your size is and all that. I'm gonna look around with Niall. Can't have him getting lost in here, or we will be in real trouble.” Harry smirked and I leaned in to kiss his cheek, making him blush. “Come catch up with us when you're done yeah?”

I walked off with Niall and we just wandered through the aisles, talking about random stuff and times when we could go surfing and all of that. It wasn't too long before I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Harry standing there, looking a bit sheepish. In his hands, he held a pair of ankle boots. I had no idea where he had gotten them, but they were just simple brown and looked very comfortable. Not my style at all, but one look at Harry holding them and I knew that they would be perfect for him.

“Lou, I just saw these and I thought...I mean, I really like them.” Harry's voice was small, like he thought I was going to refuse him, and I moved forward, putting an arm around his waist.

“Hazza, today is all about what you want. About you creating your own style and what you like to wear. If you want boots, you get boots. If you want flip flops, you get flip flops. Or you can have both, I really don't mind either way. Whatever makes you happy.”

“Lou's right. Besides, they would look great on you. Suit you, definitely,” Niall added, and that seemed to make up Harry's mind. We ended up buying both for him, and headed out into the hall again, Harry smiling contentedly and my arm still around his waist.

“Hey, guys, I'm gonna go grab some food and just chill a bit, you guys keep going. I'm starving.” Right on cue, Niall's stomach rumbled and he basically bolted for the food court. Harry looked around and headed towards American Eagle with me following.

I knew this store like the back of my hand, saying that Lottie and I basically did all of our shopping here. Half of the store was for their jeans and clothes and everything, and the other half was Aerie, the undergarments section of the store, kind of side by side. Unlike most stores, they included the mens' underwear close to the break between the two types of clothing. I think it had something to do with their son being gay and having a liking for panties instead of boxers. He had always been scared to go into Aerie because everyone would know that he was getting panties and they would tease him, so his dad, the store manager, had moved the mens' stuff over there to make him more comfortable and so that any other male who wanted panties or female who wanted boxers could shop in the same store without being bullied for it. It was a very nice gesture, and despite their son not having many friends, I was on pretty good terms with him and was friendly to him if I ever saw him.

“Harry, I'm going to look over here. You pick out whatever you want and I'll meet you right back here when you're done.” I said to Harry, and he nodded, walking slowly into the store. I headed over to the girls section. Lottie had been very adamant about me picking her something up when I went shopping with Harry, and I figured why not? It was her fault, after all, that I had gone looking for Harry in the first place.

After about fifteen minutes and still no Harry, I decided to go back and check to see if he had gone into the dressing room without me. I walked back there, a few tops over my arm that I knew Lottie would like, smiling at the girl who was folding clothes in the corner.

“Harry? You in here?”

“Lou, I...can you come here?” Harry's voice was almost too quiet for me to hear him, and I saw him stick a foot out from under a door at the end. I came over and knocked on the door, and it cracked open, one of Harry's green eyes peering out at me. I tried to come in but he kept the door well closed, hiding himself from me.

“Haz, let me in, it's alright if you aren't sure how something looks, I'll help you.”

“Lou, I think I may have pulled some female underwear by mistake...” Harry whispered, looking terrified, and I just smiled at him.

“No worries, love, you can return it.”

“No, Lou, that's not the problem. I...I like how it feels...how it fits. I don't...umm...I'm sorry...” Harry turned away from the crack in the door and I was able to push it open, slipping inside and closing it behind me. Harry stood in the corner, his face hidden in his hands and completely naked except for...

It took me a second to tell my brain not to stare, and it was a very hard thought to actually listen to. Harry was standing before me in a pair of lavender girls panties, snug in all the right places, his cock tucked at his hip and completely hidden. He looked fucking incredible, and it took most of my self control not to jump on him right then and there. I had never considered myself to be someone who would have some sort of thing for men in panties, but now that I was staring at my boyfriend in them, my whole body was tingling and humming with pleasure and lust. I walked forward a step and Harry didn't back away from me. He took his hands away from his face and I could see a few tears on his cheeks. I lifted my hands to wipe them away and he fell into my arms, hugging me tightly and shaking a little.

“M'not ashamed, I swear, I just...I didn't expect it and I thought you'd hate me for it, and that's stupid, but I...I didn't know if you were, like...into that, or against it...Humans think of things differently, very gender oriented, and I didn't know...I'm sorry. I'm fine.”

I rubbed his back gently, trying to ignore the slight pressure of his soft cock against my leg, and waited until he had calmed down completely.

“You're beautiful, Harry, no matter what you wear. You want to get panties, you do that. As many as you want. Wear them proudly, yeah? I'll support you in anything you want, and you don't have to be afraid of what the store manager says. His son likes panties too, he won't judge you.” I leaned in and kissed his forehead, brushing his curls back before kissing his lips.

When Harry kissed back, I wanted to keep going. I wanted to kiss him until his lips were red and puffy and I wanted to make him come in his panties, but I took control of my hormones and backed away from him, sliding the door open. “I'll wait for you out here, okay? Just get dressed and we can look for some clothes for you to wear.”

“Thanks, Lou. You're...you're too good to me,” Harry said, and I blushed at that, closing the door and walking back out to the store to make the purchase for Lottie.

 

***

Harry ended up picking out seven pairs of panties and a few pairs of boxers as well. (“I'm going to be spending time in the water too, this should definitely be enough...and I can always wear boxers too, I don't mind either way.”) We walked around the store for a bit more, but Harry didn't seem to like any of the clothes that they offered. I had to admit, American Eagle had a bit of a fuckboy image going on with their mens' clothes, but that didn't stop their boxers and shorts from being the most comfortable I had ever worn.

“Lou, I can't find anything I like...” Harry pouted as we started to head towards the register to buy his things. “I'm sorry I didn't like their clothes.”

“No, no, don't worry about it, Haz. You're finding your style. That style doesn't have to be the same as mine in any way. Do it for you, baby.”

Harry nodded and we stopped at the counter, putting the things up for the store manager to ring up. He didn't even flinch as he picked up the panties one by one, folding them neatly and putting them into a bag for Harry. He gave it to him with a smile and Harry grinned back, apparently very relieved that the man hadn't said anything mean to him. The store manager nodded to me and I nodded back and we left the store.

“Thanks, Lou. For letting me be me. Means a lot.” Harry said softly, and I pecked his cheek eagerly, still thinking about Harry in those panties and trying to control myself by holding his hand tightly as we walked towards the smell of food.

“Jeez, did you two do it in the store? What could possibly make you this happy, Harry?” Niall walked over to us as we entered the food court.

“He's a generally happy person, Niall,” I responded, but then Harry answered Niall as well.

“I like what I bought. I feel like I found my human self, and it makes me feel good and happy.”

“Well done there, mate. C'mon, I bought you both some food,” Niall said, and we followed him to a small table, where fries and burgers sat at two respective seats for us.

 

***

Niall took his leave after lunch, saying he had things to do, but I was pretty sure he just wanted to make it in time for the noon rush of girls onto the beach. The poor boy tried so hard. Harry and I wandered aimlessly around the mall for about an hour after that, going in to every single store, but Harry just didn't seem to like any of the clothes he saw, and I could tell that he was getting pretty defeated. In a last attempt to find at least one thing that he could wear, I lead him down a corridor and out to the back of the mall, where the entrance to TJMaxx was. Why it was in the back I didn't know, but Harry had a sad pout on his face and I wanted him to smile. There was still the little nagging voice in the back of my head saying _He's not gonna stay...he has to go back home, this is pointless,_ but I ignored it. I knew that the voice was right, but I had Harry right now, and to me, he didn't seem to have any intentions of leaving, so I was going to stick with the happier thoughts.

“Okay, Haz, this store is kind of a...mixture of everything. Really good brands for half the price sometimes. You take a look around and see if you like anything.” I started to walk off in the other direction, but Harry caught my wrist and I looked back.

“Please come with me...” he whispered, and I nodded without hesitation. I had never thought that Harry would get self-conscious or feel lonely, because he always seemed so cheerful and happy, but the fact that he wanted me there, that I made him feel comfortable and safe, brought tears to my eyes, and I had to swallow and blink quickly to stop them from falling.

We walked through the aisles of clothes, stopping every now and then to look through a section, and I thought Harry had almost given up until he gasped and pulled out a pair of tight skinny jeans with rips in the knees. He looked at me and nodded furiously, showing that he liked them, and we both dove for the racks, searching for other pairs in different sizes, since we didn't know what size he was. While he went to try them on, I walked through the sweater area. It was going to be cold and rainy some days and I wanted Harry to have soft sweaters to lounge around in if he wanted. I pulled out a giant lavender knit jumper and held onto it. It was soft and would be really big on Harry, and it would make him so cuddly, and as a bonus, it would match the colors in his hair.

Harry came bouncing up to me, announcing that he wore a 26 in women's jeans, and I didn't even bat an eyelash. I was sure that he looked amazing poured into sinfully tight jeans like that. We kept three pairs and he grabbed some regular shorts to go along with his collection of bottoms. He came back to me and I held up the sweater for him.

“It's...it's perfect, Lou. I love the color.” Harry took the sweater from Louis, almost dropping his jeans in the process, and rubbed the material against his face. “It's so soft! We don't really get to feel soft and fluffy things in the...I mean, where I'm from.” Harry quickly corrected himself as another couple pushing their baby walked past. Harry's eyes went wide and he smiled widely at the couple's retreating backs.

“You like babies, then, Haz?” I asked with a little laugh, and he nodded enthusiastically.

“Where I'm from, babies are like...the best gift anyone could ever have. We are all able to have children, males and females, but it's very rare that we get pregnant. Since we live for so long, it's not like we have a huge need to have children. But I've always wanted kids...” He trailed off with a happy sigh and I blushed as the thought of me and Harry with children rushed through my mind. It was way WAY too early to be thinking of things like that.

“C'mon, let's find you some shirts to wear. I know you'll probably go shirtless a lot of the time but just in case, we should have some.”

“I'm sure you won't mind me being shirtless...” Harry smirked and I smacked him on the arm.

“Don't get cheeky, Harold.”

“Oh, so I'm Harold now?” Harry stuck his nose up in the air like some sort of snob and stalked off. I followed him with a giggle...god, why was he so cute?

 

***

When we got out of the store, we had gotten three pairs of jeans, four pairs of shorts, one sweater, a silk shirt with white speckles on it, and six old band t-shirts that Harry had picked out himself, to go along with his boots and flip flops. He couldn't stop smiling and held my hand all the way back to the house, where we engaged in an afternoon nap involving some very serious cuddling and a lot of kissing.

My alarm went off and I groaned, turning over to turn it off. Harry shifted slightly in my arms, letting out a pathetic whine as I started to get up. “Haz, we have to go get Lottie from her friend's house. I'm sure she'd love to see you.”

Harry groaned and buried his face in the pillow, and I leaned over him, pushing his hair out of his face and kissing his neck lightly. He squirmed and turned over, capturing my lips, and I relaxed into it, letting our tongues slide together easily. We made out for a few minutes until I pulled away with a groan, standing up. “Alright, but we really have to go. More time for that later.”

Harry stood up and slipped on his new flip flops, but still wearing his outfit from earlier. He yawned like a little kitten, stretching and squeezing his eyes shut before walking a bit blearily towards the door, not waiting for me. I pulled on my Vans and hurried after him, meeting him by the front door. He rubbed his eyes and reached blindly for my hand, which I took at once, and we headed out into the fading sunlight, the heat still lingering in the air.

“Louis, what did I do to deserve you?” Harry asked suddenly, swinging our hands between us and biting his lip, and I looked over at him, surprised.

“Umm...why do you ask?”

Harry sighed and looked off over the water. “Well, I'm the youngest in my family, and while everyone else in my family was what you would call normal, I'm not. I like to explore. I like to talk to humans. I like being a human. My family on the other hand...if they could see me right now I'd be disowned, probably. We aren't supposed to live outside the water. It's part of us. And our relationship with humans has gotten better, but every time we get spotted, it's like the whole world wants to capture us and experiment on us or something. My father never even let me leave the house for my first few years, because all I wanted to do was leave and explore and find new things. My sisters and brothers and cousins, they all got to go out and have friends and boyfriends and girlfriends and I was a loner. All mermaids find their soulmate by the time they turn 14, but I didn't. I guess that's why I watched humans so much. I always figured that maybe the one person I was looking for was on land, and that's why I could never...you know...fall in love.”

I blushed but let Harry continue.

“And then I met you, and everything just clicked for me. That feeling that all of my siblings talked about upon meeting someone they liked, I felt that for the first time in my life and I don't know why it happened, but I just...I don't feel like I deserve it sometimes. Like it's too good to be true and one day you'll leave me for dead or turn me over to the scientists or whatever you call them. But I trust you so much and I love being with you and I don't want it to end.”

Harry seemed to be getting pretty worked up, so I stopped walking and turned to face him, my hands on his shoulders.

“Harry, listen to me. You're not a loner. You have me, you have your friends, and no matter what your family says, they love you. You deserve the world and more, and I know I can't give you that, but I can give you all I have, and hopefully that will work for you. As for us, well, I didn't believe in it until now, but Lottie always talked about it, and I think I might be starting to believe it a bit...it was fate, Hazza. And I don't think I could ever let you go.”

Harry smiled, a few tears rolling down his cheeks, and I wiped them away gently with my thumbs, kissing both of his cheeks and then his nose.

“Th-thank you, Lou,” he sniffed, and I took his hand again, heading down past the last few houses to where Lottie was staying. Not a moment after we had reached the edge of their property, Lottie came hurtling out the front door, making a beeline straight for Harry. She hugged him tight around his middle and Harry got over his shock quickly, leaning down to hug her back.

“What, no hug for your big bro?” I asked, faking offense, and she hugged me too before taking Harry's hand and trying to tug him along. I shouted a thank you to Lottie's friend's mum, who was standing in the doorway and smiling, and hurried to catch up with my sister and my boyfriend.

 

***

We got home and ordered Chinese (which Harry had never had before, so it was going to be an adventure) and started cleaning up a bit, noticing that the house was a bit of a mess. Harry tried to help but ended up putting everything in the wrong place and I had to move it all back. It was the thought that counted, though, and I also secretly enjoyed the look of confusion on his face as Lottie and I ran around, putting things on shelves and under tables in baskets.

My mum and Mark arrived home a few hours later, just in time for the food, and we all sat around the table, chatting about our days. Harry fit in rather nicely, always choosing the right topics to talk about, and it was almost like he had always been there. Just that thought made me all warm and tingly inside.

After dinner, Lottie decided to pop in a movie, and Harry and I settled on the couch to watch it with her. She was engrossed in it, but Harry and I kept getting distracted, sneaking little kisses back and forth as we cuddled.

“Haz, I have to go back to work tomorrow.” The words came out of my mouth in a very sad whispered tone, and Harry looked sad as well, pulling himself closer to me like I was going to disappear on him or something.

“Noooo...I want you to stay in bed with me all day,” he pouted in a whisper as well, not wanting to interrupt the movie.

“As much as I want to, I can't. My parents need help at the store. But you could spend the day in the water, if you know what I mean. Bet you miss it, huh?”

Harry nodded against my chest. “Yeah. I miss it a lot. But I'm gonna miss you too!”

I smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of Harry's head. “I'll have an hour free for lunch, so I can meet you somewhere. I usually eat on the docks, just to get some fresh air.”

“Yeah...yeah, that sounds nice. I like it. But you'll still sleep with me tonight, right?”

“Of course I will. I sleep so much better when I'm with you, for some reason,” I replied, and Harry smiled, leaning in for another kiss.

“Would you two just get a room?” Lottie's voice penetrated the sleepy silence, and Harry giggled into my mouth.

“Yes, Lottie, we'll go. Just don't get to bed too late, alright?” I said, and she nodded, turning back to the movie with a small smile on her face.

“She secretly loves it...” I whispered in Harry's ear as we hurried quickly back to my bedroom, eager to get back to kissing. We closed the door and collapsed back on the bed, happy hums coming from both of us as we curled up together, kissing and nipping at each other's lips. Eventually, our kisses became sleepy and long, and we fell asleep, curled in each other's arms.

 

***

My alarm went off before the sun was up the next morning, and my only response was to groan quietly and snuggle closer to Harry, blinking blearily and knowing I had to get up. After a few minutes, I sat up, rubbing at my eyes. Harry was still sound asleep, his hair splayed out over the pillow and his breaths coming out in little puffs from his lips. The water lily looked black in the light, but it was there, still curled tightly around Harry's ear.

I got slowly out of bed, making sure the blanket was still covering him, and pulled on some shorts and a t-shirt. I snagged a beanie from a pile that I knew was on my desk and jammed it onto my head, not wanting to worry about hair today. I looked over and saw that Harry was still sleeping, but I didn't want to just leave him without telling him when I'd be back. By the light of my phone, I scribbled a short note to Harry and placed it on my pillow. I leaned over and kissed Harry's forehead lightly and he stirred, opening one eye. His lips turned down slightly in a frown as he realized that I was dressed and not in bed.

“Lou...” He croaked in his deep morning voice, but I shushed him, kissing his forehead again.

“Back to sleep, love. Just going to work. I'll see you later, yeah?”

Harry nodded slowly, his eyes already slipping closed again, and I just leaned down and pecked his lips before hurrying out of the room and to the kitchen for some food. The faster I left, the less likely I was to go back to Harry. I hadn't even left the house yet and I already missed his presence, his cute little giggles in my ear. Wow, this was bad.

Lottie was passed out on the couch, the movie over and the screen dark, and I pulled one of the many blankets over her as I snacked on a banana. I could see the first bit of sunlight coming up over the horizon, the water just starting to sparkle a little bit, and with a last bite of the banana and a swig of water, I was out the door, doing my best to concentrate on work and not think about a certain curly haired mermaid sleeping in my bed.

 

***

After setting up shop and cleaning up a little bit, we opened. Today was a rather slow day, but my mum and Mark were both in the back doing paperwork, so I stayed behind the desk, fiddling with my phone and texting Niall. I had completely forgotten about getting Harry a phone, otherwise I'd probably be texting him, but Niall was fun to talk to as well.

Many of the customers were very happy to see me again, and I greeted them cheerfully, which seemed to surprise some of them. Not that I hadn't been cheerful to them before, but they could tell that something was different. No one asked, however, so I didn't have to explain. I just got to be happy thinking about Harry, who was probably exploring the water right now and having tons of fun.

“Alright, Lou, you can go have lunch now. Be back in an hour or so, alright? I'll have to go pick Lottie up and take her home so it will just be you and Mark in the store.” She had to shout this, because I was already out the door and heading towards some of the food vendors that lined the streets during weekdays.

After grabbing some food, I headed for the docks, which were not too terribly busy, everyone having gotten back from weekend trips and already cleaned up their boats. I settled at the end of the dock, my feet skimming the water, and pulled out some food and a bottle of water. I just watched the waves for a bit, wishing I could go swimming, but I didn't have any time to do that today.

I was just about to bite into the second sandwich I bought when something wet and seemingly slimy touched my foot. Normally, I would have just flinched and ignored it, being very used to the water and all of the creatures around here, but this time, I screeched and jumped, my sandwich flying out of my hand and hitting the water with a sad plopping noise. I looked wildly around and saw Harry's green eyes poking above the water, a light blush tinging the tops of his cheeks as he slowly brought his head above water.

“M'sorry, Lou, didn't mean to scare you.”

I laughed out loud and turned over onto my stomach leaning my head down towards him. He pushed himself up out of the water and connected our lips briefly. “It's alright, Haz. Was wondering if you'd show up.”

Harry propped his arms up on the dock, keeping his tail well hidden in the water, and looked up at me with big eyes, water droplets clinging to his eyelashes.

“I miss you, Lou. I know it's only been a few hours but still...miss hearing your voice and being able to kiss you whenever I want,” he said finally, and I let my fingertips brush his arm gently, feeling the smoothness of his skin.

“I know, love. I miss you too. But hey, I'll be done in a few hours and then I'll be home and we can make up for all of the lost cuddling time we've had today.” I replied, and Harry's smile appeared at once, dimples popping out and eyes sparkling.

“Yes, please!” He said, a little too enthusiastically, and I had to laugh, running a hand through his half dry hair.

“You're so beautiful, you know that?” I whispered, touching his cheek, and I could feel the blood rise to his face at the compliment.

“Thank you, Lou...”

I leaned over and cupped his face in my hands, kissing him hard. The feeling of his lips never got old, and every time was like the first. As much as I wanted to keep kissing him and just do that the rest of the day, I knew that I had to be back soon. I pulled away, much to the displeasure of both of us, and I crossed my legs on the dock, playing with his curls as we talked about small random things.

“Okay, Hazza, I have to go back now. I'm already late,” I said, hurrying to clear up my stuff. Harry pushed his lips out in a pout and I leaned over to kiss it away.

“Four more hours, love. I'll see you at home, okay?”

“Okay...bye, Lou.” There was an awkward sort of silence in the air, and I knew that Harry was teetering on the edge of saying it out loud, but he just turned and dove into the water, splashing me a little bit as he went. I picked up my trash with a sigh and headed back up the dock towards the street, my lips still tingling.

 

***

And that's how it went for the next three days. I would get up early, leave a note for Harry, go to work for six hours, get a lunch break, and go down to the docks to meet up with Harry. We would talk about random things and just have fun, and there were definitely some kisses mixed up in there. And then I'd see him at home, we'd eat like a family, and I'd go to bed with a soft, curly boy in my arms.

On Friday, I had been working late and was wondering how on Earth I was going to tell Harry that I wouldn't be able to make it to lunch when the door tinkled and Harry came walking in, grinning from ear to ear. He was wearing one of the old band t-shirts and the black skinny jeans with the holes in the knees, along with his boots. I thought it was hot out today, but he looked very comfortable, so I wasn't going to question it. I felt my heart race and I quickly looked over at my mum, asking for her permission to hug Harry. She rolled her eyes and waved her hand and I jumped the counter, hugging Harry tightly.

“Hi, love. What are you doing here?” I asked into his chest, and he giggled.

“Tickles...” He said when I gave him a questioning look, and my only answer was to peck his lips softly. When I pulled away, his face had gone soft and relaxed and it took him a second to come back to reality. “I wanted to pick you up for lunch this time. I have a surprise...if you can go to lunch, that is...”

Harry looked at my mum and she sat there, pondering. I knew she was going to say yes, but she seemed to enjoy keeping Harry on his toes. Harry's lip poked out in a faint pout and I knew that we were both gone at that point...no one could resist his pout.

“Yes, alright. You have two hours, and then you're back here, deal?” She said, and I nodded, running over to kiss her cheek gratefully before hurrying to the door which Harry was holding open for me.

Once we were outside, I stopped and pressed Harry against the nearest wall, kissing him hard. He gave a noise of surprise, but didn't hesitate to reciprocate the kiss, his soft lips moving carefully and perfectly with mine. Before it could get more heated, I pulled back and gave his hip a squeeze.

“What was that for?” Harry asked, his voice cracking as he felt his lips.

“Just wanted to...missed you...” I said, a little out of breath, but I took his hand and he started walking leading me towards the docks.

“So...what's the big surprise?” I asked as we walked, and Harry tried to suppress his smile as he shook his head, just walking on without a word. I followed him, of course, and when we reached the end of the dock, I felt like my heart might explode. Sitting there was a blanket, one I recognized from my house, and a basket with food in it. Harry had made me a picnic.

“You...but how did you...what?” I stuttered, looking from the food to him and back. As far as I knew, Harry had no idea how to cook or make anything, and since he had gotten here, we'd had mostly take out to eat.

“Well, your sister suggested some things before she went to school and I just kind of...tried to make things? It turns out I'm rather good at cooking so I thought I'd make you something.” Harry was biting his lip, looking a bit self-conscious, but I was on him in seconds, kissing all over his face and hugging the life out of him.

“You're the fucking cutest person ever. I'm so lucky...c'mon, let's eat, I'm starving.”

We sat down and started snacking on all the food. Harry had packed fresh fruit and cheese and some really good sandwiches that were still warm from the stove top. The only sound was the waves hitting the dock and our munching on the food.

After we had eaten our fill, we lay back on the blanket and Harry lay his head on my chest, sighing happily. I stroked through his hair absentmindedly, breathing in the sweet smell of the ocean and Harry's strawberry shampoo, which he had stolen from Lottie.

“So, how has the water been lately?” I asked, nuzzling his hair gently, and Harry hummed, curling his arm around my waist as he turned to snuggle more into my chest.

“It's been good. Found a lot of cool spots to hang out and not be seen, you know? Gotta be careful for the cliff divers, though, I was almost landed on twice yesterday.”

“Be careful out there, Hazza. Don't want you getting hurt...I'd never be able to save you if I couldn't find you.” I said, pulling him closer to me. Being wrapped up in him as the sun beat down on us and the waves slapped the wooden posts of the dock was like heaven, I couldn't even explain it.

“M'always careful, Lou. Promise,” Harry mumbled, and then he sat up, a smile on his face. “I almost forgot! I made you something.”

Confused, I sat up too, wondering what Harry could have possibly made. He'd had plenty of time, though, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Harry pulled something out of the basket and held it up to show me. It was a piece of rope, very thin, and attached to it was something glimmering and in the shape of a scale. I took it, feeling the weight of it in my hand.

“I kind of scraped a rock and one of my scales fell off...and I figured since I have this flower from you to have all the time, you should have a part of me to wear too. I hope you like it.” He blushed, looking bashful, and I looked up at him in surprise. I wasn't sure if I wanted to hug him because he hurt himself or because he was giving me this, but I hugged him right around the waist, my head on his shoulder.

“You are wonderful, you know that?”

“M'not...just a scale, not that big of a deal...” Harry tried to protest, but I shook my head, holding the necklace tighter in my hand.

“This is handmade. From the heart. I will wear this proudly, every single day. This means so much to me, thank you.” I kissed him and then stood up, looping the necklace over my neck. Harry smiled at it gleaming on my chest, and I couldn't think of anything that could go wrong in the world right now.

I was just about to sit down when I felt something weird in my stomach, and then I was falling my legs not working anymore. I tried to take a step to balance myself but I couldn't and I fell straight into the water. I tried to kick up to the surface, but nothing was happening, and I could feel myself sinking...was I drowning right now? What the hell had happened?

I heard a splash off to my left as I tried to hold my breath for as long as possible, my vision going a bit fuzzy and my head pounding from lack of oxygen.

I couldn't take it anymore. I gasped...and took a breath. That alone was enough to make me panic, and then I looked down, and I swear I could have passed out right there. My legs were gone, replaced by a long fish tail, shining with all sorts of blue and yellow and light pink scales. I tried to move, but nothing was happening. I looked around wildly for help, still not completely comprehending the fact that not only were my legs nonexistent, but I was breathing underwater. I could see Harry hovering about three feet above me, his tail shimmering in the sunlight coming through the water. He was looking at me with complete awe. I tried to get to him, but I didn't know how to use this thing that was now grafted smoothly to my torso.

“Help me...” I said, not expecting him to understand, but my voice came out loud and clear, just like it would on land. Harry snapped out of his trance and swam down to me, hooking an arm around my waist and dragging me up to the surface. Both of us spluttered water everywhere as we broke the surface, and that's when I completely lost my mind.

“I'm...I don't have...where the fuck are my legs?” I nearly screeched, holding on to the post of the dock for dear life, not knowing how to stay afloat with this thing. Harry just gaped at me for a few more seconds and then a wide smile broke over his face.

“Lou, you're a mermaid. I...I didn't know it worked like that but...but you...and you're so gorgeous, I've never seen those colors on anyone before.”

I tried to move yet again but I didn't know how, and Harry swam over to me, holding me to him and almost cradling me. I was in shock, my anger and confusion fading as the reality of what was happening hit me. I wasn't sure how to feel about it, but I knew I was about to cry in a few minutes if I didn't figure out how to move this thing.

“Haz, I can't move. I...it's scaring me...” I whispered in a choppy voice, trying not to panic, but not panicking was very hard at this point.

Harry held me closer and rubbed my back, which was bare, even though I had definitely been wearing a shirt before this had occurred. “You're okay...it's alright, don't freak out. Just...don't think about it, yeah?” He pulled back to look me in the eye, his face serious for once. “Don't try so hard. Just let it happen naturally.”

I took his advice and tried not to think so hard about moving, and suddenly, I was doing it, my tail moving back and forth to keep me above water. Harry clapped and suddenly launched himself out of the water, doing a backflip into a perfectly controlled dive, coming back up in front of me and kissing me full on the mouth.

“This is the best day of my life, shit...” Harry gasped, dipping under the water to see my tail again. I still wasn't completely sold on it and my hand, shaking slightly, drifted down to touch it. I felt smooth, wet scales over a lot of muscle, just like Harry's felt, but it was on my body. I had a fucking tail. My throat felt tight and I could barely breathe...I needed to get out of the water, now.

“Haz...I need to call...I don't know, Niall or something. I...” I didn't know why I was so terrified, but my heart was racing and I felt a little bit sick. Harry's smile slipped off his face and he swam closer, concerned. I reached up to the dock for my phone and almost dropped it, my hands now shaking furiously.

“Lou, what's wrong...?” Harry whispered, and I shook my head.

“I don't know...I...I think...Fuck, Niall, I need you at the docks, please...right now, you wanker, this isn't a joke!” I yelled into the phone, my voice cracking, and Niall hung up, probably because he was sprinting from his house to get here. I only ever used that voice on Niall when it was an emergency, and right now, it was definitely an emergency. Harry didn't know about my panic attacks, and I doubted that he knew how to help. I needed Niall. Niall could calm me down.

“Do you need to like...get up on the dock? I...I don't know how to help you...” Harry was positively chewing his lip to pieces with nerves, but I had no idea how he could help me. I couldn't explain it to him, it would just bring the attack on faster. We just sat there, the waves lifting us up and down gently, me holding onto the dock tightly. Harry placed a hand in mine, trying to give me something stable to hold on to.

Soon, I could hear labored breathing, and I knew Niall had reached the docks.

“Lou, where the hell are you?” He shouted, and I lifted my hand, hoping he could see it. His steps got louder and he knelt down at the edge of the dock, looking over at me and Harry. “What are you doing in the water?”

“I...Just get me out, please...” I begged, and Niall reached for my hand. My hand slipped right out of his, being soaking wet, and Niall didn't look like he could pull me up by himself. Harry let go of my other hand, reached for his flower, and tucked it into his hair, pulling himself up onto the dock to help. Together, they pulled me out of the water and onto the dock, my tail blinding all of us with how bright it was. Niall let out a squeak of surprise but sat me in his lap anyway, not seeming to care that water was soaking his clothes. I tried to breathe, but it definitely wasn't working. I kept seeing my tail, shimmering as the sunlight bounced off of the scales, and that was making it so much worse.

“What...how...” Niall stumbled to find the right words, and Harry reached over, taking the necklace off over my head. Why I hadn't thought about that before, I didn't know, but I guess I was still too caught up in the fact that my legs were gone. There was a very faint popping noise and my legs were back, looking completely normal. My clothes were also back, soaking wet but still on me, thank God. I curled into Niall, holding his shirt and trying to keep myself calm. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself not to cry. I didn't want to scare Harry.

“Lou, it's okay, you're fine! Just breathe for me, yeah?” Niall said, realizing in that moment what was about to happen. I tried to keep breathing steady as I felt myself calming down. I reached out blindly and Harry's hand was in mine in a second, and just the comforting feeling of his thumb rubbing circles on the back of my hand calmed me down enough so that, after about five minutes, I could sit up by myself.

“I...umm...sorry about that...” I muttered, trying not to look at Harry. I hadn't had a panic attack in years, nor had I expected to ever have one again, but I guess turning into a mermaid does that to people. It hadn't been a very bad one, though, which was good for me and for everyone involved. Either way, I had never intended for Harry to see me like that, mostly because I wanted to avoid seeing the look of terror on his face, which was what I was currently seeing.

“Don't apologize, it's fine,” Harry mumbled, looking very guilty. Niall took the necklace from Harry and examined it carefully. He looked up and addressed Harry.

“This yours, H?” Harry nodded.

“Just wanted Louis to have a piece of me to take with him, and he put it on and just...poof. Had a tail. I didn't know that could happen...” Harry looked at me, his eyes apologetic. “I'm sorry I did that to you, Lou, I never wanted to make you upset...I didn't know what it would do...”

“No, no, Harry it's alright. I loved the present I really did. I just...didn't expect that and I guess I kind of...freaked a bit. I'm okay now, I think. Was just a huge shock.” I responded, gripping his hand tightly to make sure he knew that everything was okay.

“So...Louis' flower turns you human, and your scale turns him into a mermaid...huh, guess that makes sense,” Niall pondered, and he stood up, offering me his hand. I pulled myself up, my legs still shaking a bit, but I seemed okay and everything seemed to be working. I offered my hand to Harry, but he stood up by himself and put a careful arm around my waist, almost like he wanted to protect me. I reached over to Niall and he dropped the necklace into my hand. I put it in my soaking wet pocket and took a deep breath.

“Well...maybe we will just have to try that out again when I'm actually prepared for it, yeah?” I suggested, and both of them nodded, but Niall still looked scared and Harry still looked guilty. I leaned in and kissed Harry's cheek. “It's not your fault, love. I'm fine. C'mon, how about you walk me back to work, yeah?” I turned to Niall as Harry began picking things up from our lunch. “Thanks, Ni. You know, for coming on such short notice. Probably woke you up, sorry about that.”

“Nah, I was just napping. But that tone of voice you used, I knew it was something bad. I'll always have your back, dude.” Niall replied, grinning, and with a wave, he was off. I turned to help Harry and together we cleaned up our mess.

“You really are beautiful, you know? As a mermaid, I mean. Normally a mermaid only has one color on his or her tail and the rest come out in the sun but you...yours are all different...really really shiny too...beautiful.” Harry's voice was quiet, but I still blushed at his compliment.

“You really think so?” I asked, back, and Harry nodded furiously, smiling a little bit.

“If you had been born a mermaid, you'd be one of a kind...and I'd definitely fall for you.” It was his turn to blush, and I just kissed him fondly, taking his hand. I had no idea why, but I felt so much more grounded, steady, when he was near me, and especially when I held his hand. It was almost like he was my anchor.

“Gotta get back to work. Gonna give me a goodbye kiss in the doorway?” I asked slyly, and Harry giggled.

When we walked through the front door, my mum looked up and gasped. “Lou, why are you all wet?”

In our haste to get off the dock, I had completely forgotten that I was soaking wet, and really had no explanation for that. Harry looked at me in a panic, but I kept a calm face.

“Just kinda...slipped and fell in at the docks. No big deal.”

She looked slightly suspicious, but she didn't question it further and walked to the back to get something. I turned to Harry and we both sighed in relief.

“Are we ever going to tell her?” Harry whispered, and I shrugged.

“That's up to you, whether you want her to know or not. I think we should wait, though, until after we figure this whole thing out.”

Harry nodded in agreement and leaned in to kiss me, his hands tightening slightly on my hips. “I'll see you at home, then?” He asked, and I smiled, nuzzling my nose against his.

“Yeah, definitely.”

Harry blew me a kiss and left, and I watched him walk away before getting behind the counter. My mum came out a moment later with dry clothes, and I pulled them on gratefully. I made sure to get Harry's necklace out of my pocket and into my new shorts. It wasn't heavy but I could feel it in there, almost like some sort of present that was begging to be opened and played with. But, for now, that would have to wait until I got home. If Niall was right and that necklace had been what turned me into a mermaid, then this was about to get a whole lot more interesting.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, it's been a while! Had to get moved back home from school and start work and do finals and all that, but here we are again. This chapter is a bit shorter, but it's a bit of a filler as I figure out where to go next. I'm also working on my real life want to get it published book, and that's going to take up a lot of time. Don't worry, though, I won't forget about this story, cause it's one of my favorites (even though it's basically just cute fluffy smut for me and @LavenderHarryyy). I hope you guys like this chapter! Love you all .xx  
> ~L

I couldn’t stop thinking about Harry’s scale all day. I guess that kind of went along with the panic attack, because it usually took me a day or so to recover completely from one, but still. I found my hand drifting towards my pocket at even the slightest break in helping the customers, and by the end of my shift, my bottom lip was bitten raw from the amount of times I had bitten down on it to stop myself from pulling the necklace out.

            I walked home without my parents, because they were going to a party at a friend’s house, and while I walked, I thought. I thought about Harry. I thought about his scale that was now in my hand as I played with it. It had a faint, almost luminescence to it, but I figured it was just the scale catching the light of the moon, which was shining down over the streets and the water.

I thought about the possibilities. Not only could we both be human, but now we could both be mermaids. What if Harry wanted me to go with him when he eventually went home? How was I going to explain that to my parents? Niall and Lottie knew, somewhat, but they wouldn’t take that kind of news too well either. But I couldn’t even picture myself letting Harry go home without me going with him, so I was stuck, and I hated being stuck.

            My mind was going a mile a minute when I stepped through the door, and I stopped in my tracks as Harry and Lottie looked up from the stove, both of them wearing aprons.

            “What are you guys up to?” I asked, closing the door behind me and trying to keep my voice even. Seeing Harry was enough to make my brain stop screaming at me a little bit, but honestly I just wanted to kiss him and stop worrying. Lottie bounded towards me and hugged me quickly before dragging me into the kitchen.

            “We’re making dinner! Come see!”

            I let her lead me over to the stove, where some meat was sizzling nicely in a pan and the counter was covered with bowls, all with different ingredients in them.

            “Thought we’d try tacos. I’ve never had them, so I figured it would be cool to learn how to cook them. Lottie says you like them, right?” Harry turned, looking a bit anxious, but his eyes were sparkling and knew that he wanted to kiss me just as much as I wanted to kiss him.

            “Yeah…I love tacos. One of my favorite meals…You didn’t have to go through all this trouble…” I stammered, sliding my shoes off and looking around.

            “We had fun, didn’t we, Harry?” Lottie asked, and Harry nodded enthusiastically, grinning from ear to ear, a little blush lighting up his cheeks. Lottie looked between me and Harry for a few seconds and then threw her hands up, looking a bit too much like my mum. “Oh, for god’s sake, just kiss,” she huffed, walking out of the room to go change into her pajamas.

            Harry waited until she was out of sight before dropping the spatula and pulling me into his arms. I breathed a sigh of relief, my worries going out the window as I breathed him in. Harry pulled back and kissed me eagerly, and I almost cried with how amazing it felt to just be in his arms. Am I a sap? Yeah, probably.

            Harry pulled back from the kiss, looking at me and holding my shoulders. His eyes were actually serious this time.

            “Lou…about what happened earlier, I’m really so-“

            I shut him up with another kiss, this one just a quick peck. “It’s alright, Harry. I was just scared, but you were there and you helped and that’s all that matters. Now all I wanna do is cuddle you to death.”

            “Yes, yes please,” Harry responded, and I laughed, kissing him again and ignoring Lottie’s stomping footsteps as she came back into the kitchen.

            “The meat is burning,” she said off handedly, and Harry jumped, looking frantically around and lifting the pan off of the burner quickly. He looked embarrassed, but he was giggling, hiding behind his curls, and it was all I could do not to ‘aww’ out loud.

            We sat down to a delicious meal of slightly burned tacos, but we ate our way through almost all of them and laughed our way through Lottie’s school adventures. It was only recently that Lottie had started going to school. My parents had homeschooled us for years, but Lottie had begged and begged to go to regular school, and my parents decided that summer school would be a good start for her, just to see if she liked it. It was just lucky that the schools here offered that program.

            “Well, I wanna do a beach day tomorrow, so I’m going to go to bed so I can get up super early. Night.” Lottie announced, standing up and leaving her dirty plate at the table. I didn’t even bother reprimanding her for it, because if she was going to bed, that meant Harry and I could spend some time together, and I really needed that after the day I’d had. I stood up and picked up all three of our plates, taking them to the dishwasher and putting them in.

            I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and Harry rested his curly head on my shoulder, watching me as I cleaned out the messy bowls cups that were sitting in the sink.

            “Well, hello there. Miss me?” I asked in a joking tone, and Harry nodded, turning to press a kiss into the side of my neck. My body tingled at the touch of his lips, but I kept focus as he slowly started to kiss up and down my neck, gently at first, but then starting to nip here and there. Where the hell he had learned all of these techniques, I wasn’t sure, but I loved it.

            I finished the bowls up quickly, by which time Harry had surely littered my neck with little love bites, and turned so that Harry was pressed against the counter with me in front of him. I leaned in for a kiss and he went completely pliant in my arms, melting into it. I gave a teasing little nip of his bottom lip and then backed off, taking his hand and leading him back to my room.

            “Lou…” Harry gasped as I walked him backwards to my bed, kissing him lightly along his jawline. His knees hit the bed and we crawled on top of the covers, curling up in each other’s arms. I just wanted to be close to him, and it seemed he wanted the same thing from me. I let my hands slide down the curve of his back, resting them on his pudgy hips and rubbing over the skin gently with my thumb. Harry shivered under my touch and he pulled me closer, leaning his forehead against mine, his hair spilling around our faces and making it seem like we were the only two people in the world. I tilted my head up and kissed him, letting my tongue slide gently along his bottom lip until, with a little moan, his lips parted and I was granted entrance.

            We made out lazily for a while, exploring each other’s bodies with our hands. There was no below the waist touching, however, which was fine by me. Sometimes it was just nice to be with someone, even if it wasn’t in a sexual way.

            Eventually, we stopped and Harry lay his head on my chest, his curls spilling everywhere and giving me something to play with as we lay there together, half asleep. I had left the curtains open this time and we looked out at the moon, which was making the waves shine a little. I looked out at the water and got a sudden urge to be in it, to feel the coolness against my skin, and, without thinking about it, I sat up, startling Harry.

            “Haz, I…I wanna try it.” I said it very vaguely, but Harry understood right away, and he sat up too, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

            “Right now? It’s kind of late, and your parents could get home at any time…” Harry looked hesitant, and I felt my sudden courage to figure this whole tail thing out deflate in my chest.

            “You’re right. Never mind. I was just being-“

            “No, no, Lou, don’t say that. We can go now, or in ten years, it doesn’t matter to me, as long as you’re ready. I know it really…umm, scared you before.” Harry looked at me in the darkness, his eyes wide, and I nodded.

            “Yeah. I’m ready. I just figured it would be easier to do it at night, you know, when no people are around who might see it?” I scratched the back of my head, almost regretting saying it out loud, but Harry smiled and pulled me into a hug.

            “C’mon. I’ll teach you.”

***

            We snuck out the back door and walked across the cooling sand hand in hand. My other hand was clutching at the necklace, and Harry had a blanket tucked under one arm for us to put our clothes and stuff on while we were out in the water.

            Harry spread the blanket and I began to strip down to my boxers. I didn’t need any more clothes getting soaking wet. Harry did the same, and stood there, his toes pointed inward and a look of shy apprehension on his face. His bum was just covered by a pair of simple black panties, and they accentuated his tiny curves and his hips. I was glad it was dark, because I knew I was blushing furiously. I reached for his hand and he took it easily, smiling in what seemed to be relief that I hadn’t commented on his appearance. He seemed so confident sometimes that I forgot that this was all new to him and he still had those ideas of gender drilled into his head by whomever had taught him about human beings.  I just let him be him as we walked a few feet to the edge of the water. It was still relatively warm from the heat of the sun, and the moon sparkled nicely along the surface. Harry slipped the flower from his hair and tossed it neatly back onto the blanket, walking quickly into the water and slipping underneath as his legs disappeared and his tail replaced it. In the light from the moon, his tail seemed to shimmer more brightly and the colors were extremely vibrant through the water; greens and purples and pinks swirling just below the surface. Harry caught the look of awe on my face and said,

            “It depends on when we are born. If you’re born during the day, your tail is brighter in sunlight. If you’re born at night, which is pretty rare, your tail is brighter in moonlight.”

            “It’s so beautiful…” I mumbled, fiddling with the rope holding Harry’s scale, which was still clenched tightly in my hand. “What will mine do, then?”

            “Well…it’s my scale, so probably the same thing, but since you turned first in daylight…I don’t know. Wanna find out?” Harry’s eyes were a bit pleading, and I knew he was being patient just because he knew how anxious I was. It was written all over my face, I just knew it. I had never been too great at hiding my emotions, especially if it was a person I really cared about.

            “Yeah…yeah, okay.” I waded into the water and out to where he was keeping himself afloat, staying where I could stand at least. I took a deep breath and looped the necklace over my head. It was only seconds before I felt the familiar weird feeling in my stomach, and then Harry was catching me as my tail formed, holding me up gently. We both looked down and Harry gasped with wonder.

            The colors of my tail, which had been bright in daylight, as far as I could remember, were even brighter in the moonlight. The colors danced with Harry’s, making a rainbow under the water. I felt a smile making its way onto my face and I looked at Harry. Harry’s eyes were filled with tears of happiness and I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him and pressing my face into his neck, our fins brushing against each other with the movement of the water.

            “Do you…you wanna try moving it?” Harry asked thickly, obviously trying not to cry, and I nodded, pecking his lips before letting go. I remembered what he said about not thinking about it, and after a few seconds, I found myself moving through the water easily with speed that I never even knew was possible. Harry watched as I circled him and then he dove under, grabbing my hand and pulling me with him.

            Surprisingly, I could see very clearly under the water, despite it being night. It was like my eyesight had sharpened to that of a fish. Harry was smiling and breathing normally, and after I couldn’t hold my breath any longer, I gasped, breathing in the water like I was breathing air. I felt a tickle on my neck and slapped my hand to it, feeling small slits just below my ears. Gills.

            “This…this is fucking awesome…” I said quietly, and Harry giggled, kissing my cheek and still holding my hand.

            “You look so beautiful, Lou. Your tail colors, they are just so…amazing and bright.” Harry said, blushing, and I looked away in embarrassment. I didn’t really enjoy discussing my appearance with anyone, and that included Harry. Even though I knew I didn’t have it nearly as bad as others, I knew my body wasn’t perfect, and definitely far from beautiful. Harry swam to me and made me look at him by gently turning my face to his. “You really are, Louis. I promise.”

            I nodded, taking the compliment as best I could, and we just floated there in the water, holding each other and marveling at the colors cast around by the moonlight and the water. It felt a little weird, knowing that we were completely under water and I was breathing normally, but the water felt almost nice on my skin, like silk, and Harry was there, and he still smelled like strawberry shampoo with a hint of taco, and I wouldn’t have minded if we had stayed right there forever, wrapped in each other and feeling at home.

            Harry suddenly clapped a hand to his mouth and, without a word to me explaining, sped for the surface, leaving me very confused. I watched as his tail propelled him towards the shore, flashing green, purple, pink, and blue through the water, and then I rose carefully to catch up with him, still not having a complete handle on the whole tail business. My hair fell into my eyes, sopping wet, as I broke the surface, and I followed Harry to shore, where I could see him sitting on the towel, his flower behind his ear. I took the necklace off and my legs came back as I clambered up the sand towards the towel.

            Harry looked like he was going to be sick. His hand was still clamped over his mouth and his eyes were wide behind curtains of wet curls. I crawled up next to him and opened my arms hesitantly, not sure if he wanted me near him or not. I’d never seen him like this.

            “Harry…is everything alright?” I asked carefully when he didn’t move. He shook his head a little bit. I tried again. “Do you want to talk about it?” He shook his head even more, and I thought I heard a small whimper escape him. “Can I hold you?” Harry looked at me, his eyes brimming with tears, and he nodded this time, crawling into my arms and curling up. I wasn’t sure exactly what to do, but he seemed to want to be close to me, so I just ran my hands through his hair, not speaking any words because I had no idea what to say. I held him there for a while until his body stopped shaking and he looked up at me, his eyes a little puffy.

            “C-can we go inside?” He asked, and I nodded at once, helping him sit up. He got to his feet, not looking at me, and I folded up the blanket and our clothes, following Harry’s footprints. He had already gone towards the house without saying a word, and I was worried, but I didn’t want to pry. He would tell me when he wanted to.

            I dumped the things in my room and headed out to the main room, where Harry was curled on the couch, his back to me. I got two glasses of water and sat them on the small table in front of the couch, sitting next to Harry and just watching him. Jamie had come out of nowhere and was curled up in his arms, purring contentedly as Harry stroked her head gently. He seemed to be zoned out, just thinking, so I touched his shoulder and he looked around, his eyes settling on me. His face relaxed and he made grabby hands for me, so I slid comfortably in behind him, holding him around the waist while trying not to disturb Jamie. She seemed to be calming Harry down a lot.

            “You feeling alright, Hazza?” I asked, kissing his ear gently, and I felt Harry’s whole body tense and relax again.

            “I…yeah, I guess. I’m sorry for what happened, I just…” Harry seemed to be having a lot of trouble talking about it, so I just played aimlessly with his curls, being very gentle.

            “You don’t have to talk about it, Haz. It’s alright.”

            “But it isn’t. I know I scared you and I didn’t mean to…I just…maybe tomorrow we can talk about it?” he asked, and I leaned over to kiss him on the temple.

            “Whenever you’re ready to talk about it, we can. That’s completely up to you.”

            “Thanks, Lou. I…thanks.” Harry stuttered, and I knew that, yet again, he had been teetering on the edge of saying it. I had wanted to say it the moment I met him, but I wanted to wait for him, and whatever was going on with him seemed like something we would have to discuss before saying that to each other ever happened.

            “Of course, love. You wanna sleep now?” I asked, and he nodded, his curls getting in my nose and mouth. I untangled my face from his curls and held him tighter, drawing patterns on his hip until his breathing evened out and he fell asleep. Jamie snuggled closer to him and he put a hand on her in his sleep, sighing, and I tucked my face into his neck, falling asleep shortly after.

***

            I woke up the next morning half off the couch, my neck aching. I sat up, rubbing my eyes, and then jolted awake, realizing that Harry wasn’t there. My heart pounding, I stood up, swaying as I gained my balance, and looked around. There were two breakfast plates on the table and two glasses of juice, but no sign of Harry or Lottie or anyone in my family, for that matter. The sun was high in the sky, so I knew it had to be near noon, at least.

            I heard giggles from the hallway and I walked towards Lottie’s room. I could hear the sound of her TV playing a movie, and Harry’s adorable giggles, and that was enough for me to knock lightly on the door and open it slowly.

            Lottie and Harry were sitting on the floor. Harry’d had the thought to put on some shorts and a long-sleeved shirt of mine, so that he wouldn’t be in just his underwear in front of Lottie. They looked up at me as I entered, and my breath was completely taken away.

            Harry’s long curls were tied up in a ponytail, his eyes sparkling as he looked at me. He jumped up and came over quickly, pecking my lips and showing me his hands and toes.

            “Lottie needed someone to do her nails, so I helped, and then I let her do mine, see?” Harry said in excitement, and I glanced at the dark red on his fingernails and toenails. His cheeks were slightly pink with happiness and he just looked so content and proud with himself. I pulled him into a tight hug and he had a moment of surprise before wrapping his arms around me and hugging back.

            “Hazza, you look so gorgeous…you’re literally glowing…” I managed to say, still in a bit of shock from how pretty he looked. I could see a very thin line of pink lace peeking out above the waist of the shorts, my shirt not long enough to fit him quite properly, and I didn’t know what to do with myself. Harry was just so…wonderful.

            “When you’ve stopped staring, you can come look at Harry’s paint job. He did reasonably well, for his first time. Better than you, anyway,” Lottie said loudly, and I peered around Harry, giving Lottie an exaggerated glare.

            “I practiced hours to learn how to paint your nails, Lots.” I complained, and she grinned.

            “Yeah, and you’re alright at it, but you never let me paint yours. I want to keep Harry, I like him more.”

            I rolled my eyes and pulled Harry tightly to my side. “Mine.”

            Harry giggled and pressed his face into my neck before hurrying over to Lottie and giving her a kiss on the head. “Going to go get ready for the beach now and then we can all go down together, yeah?”

            Lottie nodded enthusiastically and hugged Harry’s leg before scampering off to her closet to find her suit. I led Harry out of the room, heading towards mine, and I closed the door and locked it before turning to Harry and moving quickly towards him to kiss him.

            “You look so beautiful with your hair and your nails and even those panties…god, what did I do to deserve you?” I mumbled against his lips and Harry moaned quietly, rutting his hips against mine. I could feel how hard he was against my thigh and I swallowed, going hard at the feeling myself. “What’s got you all worked up, love?”

            “Y-you. You said…you said I was yours and I…It was really hot…” Harry gasped as I sucked a love bite onto his collar bone.

            “You like it, when I call you mine?” I asked, not knowing where my confidence was coming from, but Harry seemed to love it, melting at my words and moving his hips forward again desperately.

            “Yes…wanna be yours, Lou, wanna be all yours.”

            I whimpered at that, feeling myself go fully hard, and I knew Harry could see it because I was only wearing boxers and they were definitely tenting by now. I beckoned Harry to the bed and he came quickly, crawling in next to me and searching for my lips with his. I leaned my head down and kissed him, crawling on top of him and straddling his hips. I rolled my hips down on his and he whimpered in a high pitched voice, his hands going for my back and holding me closer to him. I leaned down to kiss him more and then my hands went carefully to his zipper. When he nodded, I unzipped his shorts and shimmied down so I could pull them off, and the sight before me was almost too much to take in.

            Harry was wearing what must have been a secret pair of panties that he hadn’t told me about. They were completely lace, giving me a good sight of his cock, which was peeking out of the top now, leaking precome. He had a gorgeous cock, from what I could see, and it was only making me love him more.

            “Oh, Harry…so pretty…so eager for me…” I whispered, getting the shorts all the way off and crawling on top of him, pressing our clothed erections together as I kissed him senseless. His moans were lost in my mouth as I rolled my hips down again, groaning myself at the friction.

            “Lou…Lou, please…” Harry moaned, and I immediately stuck two fingers in his mouth, not wanting him to attract attention, and it was the first thing that came to mind. Harry immediately started _sucking on them_ , which was a lot hotter than it should have been, and I palmed at myself, feeling my orgasm right around the corner.

            “Fuck…Harry, I’m…I’m gonna come…” I gasped, and Harry whimpered around my fingers, gripping at my back as I leaned back down to kiss his jaw. I gave it a little nip and that was when Harry lost it, his whole body jerking upwards as he came into his panties, soaking the lace and soaking through my boxers. I came right after that, stuffing my fist in my mouth to keep from shouting, and we both just lay there, not moving and feeling sticky.

            “Harry…holy shit, I was not expecting…” I said breathlessly, and he whimpered again.

            “Sorry, I just…I needed you.”

            “And you got me,” I answered with a smirk, moving up to kiss him lightly. “We should get dressed. Lottie is gonna be wondering where we are.” I crawled off of Harry walked to my dresser, tugging off my soiled boxers and sliding my trunks on. I felt like free-balling today. Harry did the same, peeling off his beautiful panties and pulling on a spare set of trunks, since we had forgotten to get him a suit while we were out. He looked over at me and I moved the two feet separating us to kiss him hard. He cupped my face in his hands, kissing me back, but there was a knock on the door that had us jumping apart.

            “C’mon, guys!!!! It’s supposed to rain later, I don’t want to miss all the fun!” Lottie cried from the other side, and we both smiled. As a last minute thought, I tucked Harry’s scale necklace into my pocket. Maybe, just maybe, I’d have some time to swim with him later.

***

            As it turned out, Lottie had stolen my phone and called Niall, and he met us all on the beach, a bag full of food on his shoulder and a smile plastered on his face.

            “Wow, didn’t think I’d ever see you two out and about again! Been keeping busy, I suppose…” Niall winked at me and Harry, and I choked on my water, my eyes widening as I looked over at Lottie. Thank god, she wasn’t paying attention. I threw my empty water bottle at Niall and he dodged it, giving me a disapproving look. “Littering, Tommo. And I thought you were better than that…”

            Harry giggled at that and I turned to kiss his cheek. We were laying on the towels we had brought out from the house, feeling the sun warming our skin. I had asked Harry if he wanted to swim, but he had shaken his head, hiding immediately behind his curls. I didn’t question him further on it, but I couldn’t help wondering if something had scared him enough last night that he didn’t want to be in the water anymore.

            Niall ran off to tackle Lottie in the water and I leaned back, closing my eyes to the glare of the sun. Harry shifted closer to me and lay his head on my shoulder, his face tucked into my neck. I moved my hand to Harry’s little tummy and traced patterns lightly with my fingertips, causing him to squirm, but he didn’t tell me to stop.

            “You smell really good, Lou…” Harry whispered into my neck, leaving a trail of feather light kisses as I continued to draw on his tummy. I hummed happily in response, looping my arm around his waist and pulling him to me.

            “Thanks baby,” I mumbled, turning my face to kiss him properly, and he made a pleasured noise at the nickname, his lips touching mine.

            “OI, YOU TWO!” Niall screamed from the water, and we giggled into each other’s mouths, going back to our cuddling. The sun was so warm and Harry felt so soft in my arms, that I didn’t have much chance to think about it before I was falling asleep, the sun beating down on my back.

            I don’t know how long I was asleep, but I was suddenly aware of a shadow over me and then I yelped as freezing water covered my entire body. I was up in two seconds, looking wildly around and dripping wet, but all I saw was Lottie and Niall laughing hysterically and Harry looking up at me from the blanket, seemingly in too much shock to actually stand up.

            “What the actual f-“ I started, but Niall placed a careful hand over my mouth.

            “Now, now, Lou…there are children present,” Niall chastised, and I glared at him, flicking my wet hair out of my eyes.

            “Why…exactly…” I tried again, but the look on Harry’s face was one of such shock that I just started laughing, not even able to tell Niall off for being a dick. Harry’s eyebrows knit in confusion and I sat down next to him, pulling him into a tight hug. “You’re just so adorable, Hazza.”

            Niall and Lottie were still laughing, and at that point, I decided that revenge was the best option, so I jumped up, grabbed the bucket they had used, and ran after them with a bucket full of sand, chasing them all over the beach and getting thoroughly sweaty and sandy. Once I finally caught them and covered them completely in gritty sand, I looked over at Harry, who was still sitting on the towel, now watching with amusement and something like fondness, and my heart just swelled. I loved him too much for my own good.

            “Alright, alright, we get it. Go back to your fish boyfriend. We will leave you alone, promise,” Niall said, looking almost sincere, save for the sparkle in his eye, and Lottie nodded, still smirking. She was a little devil sometimes, I swear.

            I hurried back to Harry and flopped down next to him, panting and feeling quite disgusting, but Harry didn’t seem to care. He just leaned down and kissed me gently before cuddling back up next to me, and I wrapped my arm around his waist, spooning him. He traced the tattoos on my arm carefully, and then he turned around to face me.

            “Lou, I wanna get a tattoo.”

            I started at him for a full five seconds, trying to comprehend what he had just said. He wanted to do what? Was he serious? Harry apparently could read my mind or something because he smiled and kept talking.

            “Yes, I’m serious. I want to get one. I think they are really cool, and you look so good with them. It doesn’t have to be big…something small to start, but I just…I really want one.”

            “Well, they are pretty expensive, but if you want one, I’m sure I can get you a discount with the artist I go to. What did you have in mind, love?”

            Harry bit his lip, obviously thinking hard, and then he said, “I want to get laurel leaves. Right here.” He pulled my hands down to the v-lines leading down into his trunks. I swallowed hard, trying not to think about how hot it would be to suck him off and leave marks in between the leaves.

            “Not exactly small then. Sounds great, Haz. When did you want to get them? You know you have to let them heal for a bit, right? And who knows how they will work when you go back in the water, being that close to your tail…”

            “I know, it’s probably risky, but I really want to. The idea of having them makes me feel more…me, I guess.”

            I looked at him fondly and leaned in to kiss him, letting my lips linger on his plump ones before pulling away and leaving him breathless. “And when did you want to do this again?”

            “Umm…today?” Harry answered, and my eyes bugged right out of my head. Harry giggled and pressed his nose against mine, rubbing back and forth. “We don’t have to, but I kind of like the idea of spontaneous decisions. What do you think? Can we?”

            “I don’t see why not. Let me call Stan and see if he has any openings today. If anyone is going to give you your first tattoo, it’s going to be him, hands down.” I sat up and pulled my phone towards me. Harry sat up too, propped up on his elbow as he watched me, his hair messy and covering half of his face. I reached out a hand to brush it out of his eyes as Stan picked up. “Hey, Stan, it’s Louis. My boyfriend wants his first tat…can you make it happen today?”

            “Yeah, sure thing, mate. What time?” Stan replied, and I tried to contain my happy smile as I replied.

            “Umm…let’s say an hour or so from now? We’re on the beach right now.”

            “Yeah, sounds great. See you then, Tommo.”

            I hung up and looked over at Harry, who was watching me anxiously. “We’re going in an hour. We need to get dressed.”

***

            When we reached Stan’s tattoo place, Harry’s hand was shaking slightly in mine, though out of excitement or anxiety, I didn’t really know. I lifted his hand to my mouth and pressed my lips against it a few times, looking into his eyes.

            “You sure you want this, Haz? You can always say no and we can go back to the beach,” I asked, but Harry nodded firmly and I held the door open for him.

            The inside of the shop, unlike a lot of tattoo parlors, was well lit with lots of windows and seemed like an overall friendly place. I knew that Stan hated the drab and the dark, and his tattoo parlor was one of my favorite places to go.

            “Hey, Tommo!” A voice called to me from the back of the shop and Stan came hurrying towards me, pulling me into a tight one armed hug.

            “Stan…how are you, mate?” I asked, grinning, and Harry’s hand tightened on mine, reminding me about introductions. “Oh, right. Stan, this is Harry, my boyfriend. Harry, this is Stan. Best damn tattoo artist around.”

            Harry held out his hand kindly to Stan, who shook it firmly, his smile growing as he glanced at me.

            “Wow, Lou, you sure can pick them…hot as fuck, this one,” Stan mouthed to me as he lead Harry towards one of the unoccupied chairs. I blushed and rolled my eyes, a wave of protectiveness that I had definitely never felt before rolling over me. I threaded my fingers through Harry’s again, trying to push the feeling away. It was just Stan, he wasn’t going to try to take Harry from me or anything.

            “Alright, Harry. What can I do for you today?” Stan asked as he pulled out a pen and paper, ready to sketch. Stan liked doing his tattoos this way, drawing them out on a full body sketch so that the customer knew exactly what they were getting.

            Harry explained what he wanted, pointing on his body to indicate where he wanted the tattoo and how he wanted it to fit with the curve of his hips, and Stan sketched, while I held Harry’s hand, rubbing over the back of it with my thumb.

            “How’s that look for you?” Stan held up the drawing and Harry beamed at him, nodding excitedly. Stan smiled and winked at me as he stood to get everything ready. “Harry, I’m going to need you to take off your shirt for me, and push your pants down just a little bit, just so I can make sure the tat is stopping where it should.”

            Harry stood and removed his shirt and then settled back in the chair, tugging his shorts down just a little. I could see a faint smattering of soft hair where his happy trail lead right into his groin area, and I swallowed, concentrating on the floor.

            “You ready?” Stan asked, lifting the needle, and Harry’s eyes widened at the sight of it, but he nodded, closing his eyes and tightening his grip on my hand. Stan lowered the needle and touched it to Harry’s skin. Harry jumped and Stan pulled it away quickly so as not to hurt him. “Hey, it’s alright, mate. Just relax, breathe normally. It’s gonna pinch, might hurt a bit, but it’s gonna be just fine.”

            Harry bit his lip, watching this time as Stan started again, and though he flinched, it wasn’t as bad as before, and I had my lips busy on his hand, kissing each of his fingertips and his palm over and over to keep him calm and concentrated on something else.  Harry finally relaxed, and almost seemed to be enjoying the sensation, but I kept a hold on his hand anyway.

***

A few hours later, we were still there, even though all of the other customers had come and gone. Stan had told Harry that tattoos as big as the one he wanted usually took two trips, but he had the time and wanted to do it all in one, if that’s what Harry wanted, and Harry had agreed. I had texted Lottie and Niall and my parents just so they knew where we were, and now we were finally finishing up.

Harry glanced over at me as Stan lifted the needle away from his finishing touches, and I caught a glimpse of his eyes, his pupils blown wide and his eyes looking glassy. I had only ever seen that look on him once before, maybe twice, and I knew what it meant…he was turned on. Stan knew it too, because he chuckled as he wrapped Harry up and helped him to his feet. I snuck an arm around Harry’s waist, and my fingertips accidentally brushed the edge of his tattoo. Instead of flinching in pain, however, Harry let out a very small whimper that had all the blood in my body rushing towards my dick. I tried to picture Niall naked or something to make sure I didn’t get hard. We were in public, for god’s sake.

We made it to the counter and Stan rung us up. I glared at him as the price flashed on the screen, because it was less than half of what he normally charges for tattoos of that size, but I didn’t argue, because it was becoming increasingly hard to stay calm with a squirming Harry right next to me.

“Thanks for coming in guys. Hope to see you again! And Louis…” Stan said in a whisper as Harry headed for the door, tugging me along by the hand. “You better get him home…he got a bit excited during that tattoo…seems like your boy likes a bit of pain.” He smirked as I blushed, and I hurried out after Harry. Harry was practically towing me down the street, tripping over his long legs, but he wasn’t stopping, and the closer we got to home, the more turned on I became, until I was practically sporting a full and very obvious boner in my tight shorts.

            We barely made it to my room before Harry was on me, kissing me roughly. “Louis…Lou, please, I need…” he panted against my mouth, and I held his shoulders, getting him to calm down a little bit.

            “Hey, you’re alright…c’mon, I’ll take care of you. To the bed, love?” I asked, and he stripped as he walked, ending up completely naked by the time he reached the bed. His cock was standing up proudly, and I couldn’t help but gape at it a little bit. He was so huge and so beautiful, and this being the first time I had seen him completely naked, I really had to exercise a lot of control not to jump on him. I got my clothes off and sat down next to him, not touching him other than my hand, which was running through his curls gently. “How long have you been like this?”

            “Since…fuck, since he started with the needle…felt so good…too good…Lou, please,” Harry was practically begging now, his lip out in a pout and his hands clenched in the sheets, trying hard not to touch himself. “G-god, you…you’re so gorgeous, Lou…”

            “Look who’s talking. Look at you, so pretty and ready for me. And look at that ink…god, you’re so pretty, baby…” I had no idea where my words were coming from but they just felt right to say. Harry was beautiful and pretty and he was my baby. Harry moaned at my words and his cock twitched where it lay against his stomach, already leaking. The plastic wrapped around his waist was crinkling a bit as he moved, and I had a thought. I reached over and pressed my thumb into his hip, right where his fresh tattoo started, and he moaned again, this time louder. Stan had been right…he liked the pain, got off on it, apparently.

            “Hazza, shh, you need to be a little quieter…don’t want Lottie or Niall to hear, do you?” I asked, and he shook his head, biting down on his bottom lip and reaching for my fingers. Realizing what he wanted made me let out a groan as my cock throbbed, and I put two fingers in his mouth, as I had done this morning. Harry sucked hard on them, keeping quiet as I reached for his cock and started to pump it slowly. Harry gasped and stopped sucking on my fingers, trying to talk around them. I pulled them out and leaned down to hear him.

            “Want you to…suck me. Please.”

            “Fucking hell, Harry, you’re gonna kill me…” I had never sensed Harry to be such a bold person, especially since this was his first time doing anything with anyone in any romantic or sexual sense. He clearly knew what he wanted, and it was almost a little too hot to hear those words come out of his mouth.

            “Kiss me…kiss me, please?” Harry asked, and I obliged, realizing that I needed his lips just as badly as he needed mine. I leaned down and he moved to meet me, our lips colliding in a harder and dirtier kiss than I was expecting, and it was quite the turn on. We made out for a while, my hands sliding down his sides and my fingers flicking over his nipples. I could feel his cock against mine and it took all the restraint I had not to blow my load right there.

            “Gonna suck you off now, love. You ready for my mouth?” I asked, my lips already red and bruised from kissing him. I kissed gently down his chest until I reached his cock, and I gave a small kiss to the top of it. Harry’s entire body shuddered at the contact and I had to take a deep breath. I had never taken someone as big as Harry, or really anyone at all, but I knew it would make him feel good, and that’s what I wanted for him. I gripped the base firmly but gently and guided his tip into my mouth, wrapping my lips around him and sucking a little bit.

            “Oh…oh god…Louuu…” Harry moaned, his hips stuttering as he tried in vain to not thrust into my mouth. I let his cock go and held his hips down, pressing into the fresh ink as I did so, and Harry squirmed under me as I went down a bit deeper on him, bobbing my head and swirling my tongue. I made sure to add pressure to the vein on the underside of his cock, and I could hear Harry gasping for air at how good it felt. I was making him feel that way, and that thought made my neglected cock jump.

            “Lou…god, your mouth…” Harry panted, and I just went deeper, taking him halfway. I could feel the ache in my jaw but I was not going to stop. I was going to do this properly for him. Harry’s hand was in my hair now, holding me to him, and I could only think of one thing to do to make this even better. I took a deep breath through my nose and took him all the way down, my nose bumping against the skin of Harry’s groin. Harry whined as his tip hit the back of my throat and he was coming immediately. I swallowed all that I could and made sure he was finished before I pulled off, my hand already on my cock and pumping fast. Within the minute, I was coming in my hand, moaning and leaning up so that I could kiss Harry properly as he came down from his high and as I came. Harry was shaking from his orgasm when I finally finished coming, and I stopped kissing him for a moment, looking for a place to wipe my hand off.

            “Lou, let me,” Harry said softly, and he grabbed my hand, starting to lick the come off of my fingers. My softening cock twitched at that.

            “God, Hazza, you’re so good, so beautiful…” I whispered, waiting for him to finish cleaning off my hand before kissing him again and tasting myself on his tongue. He made a noise into my mouth and just kept kissing me softly, his whole body pliant and his eyes half closed with pleasure. I pulled him closer to me and he tucked his head under my chin, and, exhausted, we both dozed off.

***

            I think, after that, both of us realized how fast we were taking things in our relationship. I knew how I felt about Harry and I hoped that he felt the same about me, but we made a silent agreement to slow things down, and nothing else other than innocent cuddling and a few kisses happened for the rest of the weekend.

            “No, Lou, don’t go to work, I’ll be lonely,” Harry begged on Wednesday morning as I pulled my bag over my shoulder. He attempted to block the door but I moved him kindly aside, my hands landing on his hip chub, where the plastic from the tattoo had finally been removed, his skin smooth and perfect looking with his laurels. He was wearing a pair of blue panties today that made his colored curls pop and he looked amazing, but I really did have to go.

            “I’ve got to, Haz. I’ll be back later, I promise, and then maybe we can go for a swim? Just a midnight dip, nothing too serious,” I added quickly as Harry’s face became nervous and he bit his lip. I still hadn’t asked him what had happened, and he hadn’t brought it up. But he also hadn’t gotten in the water since that night and I was starting to become mildly concerned. But I had promised him I wouldn’t ask so I didn’t say a word.

            I pulled Harry towards me and tilted my chin up slightly to kiss him. His lips moved gently against mine before he broke the kiss, leaning our foreheads together. “M’gonna miss you.”

            “Me too, love. Go back to sleep, and maybe Lottie will agree to spend the day with you. She doesn’t feel quite well, so maybe you can cheer her up.” I suggested, and Harry’s expression brightened a little. I could tell that he really liked my sister, and they always had fun together. I kissed him again quickly. “Okay, but I really need to go. I…umm, I’ll see you later.”

            Cursing myself for almost saying it out loud and pecking Harry on the cheek one last time, I hurried out of my room and headed through the kitchen to the door. Once I was sure that no one could see me, I snuck down to the beach and headed down it towards the docks. I hadn’t told Harry this, but I didn’t actually have to work today. My parents had hired another boy to help out so that I could have some time for myself, and today, I had plans. I was going to learn how to swim like Harry did, like a real mermaid, so that maybe I could keep up with him and I wouldn’t feel like such a failure. Harry had caught on fairly quickly to using legs, but me and using a tail? It was like learning to ride my bike all over again. But I wanted to do it, not only for myself, but for Harry.

            I reached our dock and hopped up onto it, stashing my bag on our boat. I tugged off my clothes until I stood there in my underwear, Harry’s scale necklace in my hand. I slipped into the water as the sun came up fully, and tugged the necklace on, holding onto the dock just in case. I felt the familiar change of my legs into a tail and took a deep breath before letting go.

 

***

***

            Harry woke around noon with the sun shining in his face and his hair all over the place. He sat up and stretched, and then remembered that Louis was at work. He sighed with a frown and padded towards the bathroom to get a shower. It was all becoming second nature, this whole being a human thing, and he quite liked it. He missed the water terribly, but he just couldn’t handle being in it right now.

            He dried off after his shower, slipping on his usual jean shorts and one of his old band t-shirts and headed out into the kitchen, where he saw Lottie sitting at the table, looking very tired.

            “Hey, Lottie,” he said softly, and Lottie groaned, lifting her head. Her face seemed to brighten at the sight of Harry, but she didn’t say much else. She just set her head down on her arms and groaned again. Harry looked around the kitchen and saw a pot and a can of something sitting on the counter with a note attached. He lifted the note to read it aloud in a quiet mumble. “Heat up for Lottie if she’s hungry.”

            Harry bit his lip, looking over at Lottie and then back at the soup. He wasn’t quite sure how this worked, but he didn’t want to ask Lottie to make herself some soup when she was sick. He searched the cabinets until he found something that he remembered Lottie calling a can opener, and proceeded to try to use it on the can. He struggled, frustrated, unable to figure out how the two sides fit together, and it wasn’t until he felt a pair of small, slightly clammy hands on top of his that he stopped and looked around. Lottie took the can opener from his hands gently and opened the can, smiling to herself.

            “Sorry…got confused…” Harry mumbled, feeling embarrassed, and Lottie just smiled a little.

            “Louis’ right…you’re cute when you’re confused.”

            Harry blushed crimson and took the open can from Lottie, pouring it into the pot and adding a cup of water like the can suggested. “You go sit on the couch and pick a movie. No more work for you, you’re sick. I’ll take care of you.”

            “Oh, god. Should I be scared?” Lottie teased, and Harry stuck his tongue out at her before turning back to the stove, trying to remember how they had done this when they had made tacos a few nights ago. He flicked a nob one way and a burner lit up. Satisfied, he put the pot on there and set the timer for the allotted time, then sat down at the table to wait for it.

            A few splashes and muttered curses later, and he had a bowl filled to the brim with soup and a cup of water and he set them down in front of Lottie, who was curled up under numerous blankets on the couch. She smiled gratefully and snuggled into Harry’s side as she picked up the bowl carefully. Harry carefully put an arm around her shoulders, like he would if he’d had any younger siblings, and Lottie pressed play on the movie she had chosen.

            By now, Harry knew the opening credits of The Little Mermaid, and he smiled, settling back into the couch. This movie fascinated him, because of how terribly wrong all of the lore was. How had they managed to get it all wrong when thousands of mermaids, including some of his friends, had been captured and taken away for experiments? But Lottie loved it, and he would watch it if she wanted to.

            At that moment, Jamie jumped up onto the couch and settled in Harry’s lap, purring contentedly. Harry had to admit, he was still a bit wary of the cat after she had bitten his ankles on their first meeting, but he was getting better at it, and she seemed to have no problems with him now.

            Lottie finished her soup and then fell asleep against Harry, who didn’t mind at all. He stroked her hair softly and absentmindedly as he watched the movie, commenting in his head of all the things they could have done to make it more accurate. Lottie didn’t wake up until the end credits had almost finished rolling, which was good, because Harry had no idea how to work the remote thing, and he wasn’t sure he was up to watching the movie over and over again until he died.

            Lottie got up and turned it off and then sat back down, facing Harry with a look on her face that Harry could only guess meant one thing: he was about to be asked a lot of questions.

            “Lottie, you should go back to sleep. You’re still sick, and sleep is what you need when you’re sick, right?” Harry thought that was right, but he wasn’t sure. He just felt a need to make sure Louis came home to his sister in one piece.

            “Oh, god, you sound like Louis. Always worrying about me.” Lottie complained. “I’m feeling better now, I promise! Please? I have so many questions…”

            “Oh, alright. But don’t tell Louis, or he might just kill me. Ask away. Anything you want.” Harry settled back into a more comfortable position, scratching behind Jamie’s ears, and looked at Lottie, who cleared her throat, looking determined.

            “So, I’m curious...”

***

            And so she asked. And asked and asked and asked. Harry was pretty sure he’d explained everything in the mermaid creature textbook he had used at school by the time Lottie had finished. She was indeed looking a lot better and seemed a lot happier now that she had all of her answers. But just when Harry had thought she was finished, she looked him dead in the eye and asked, “So, are you staying? Like, here with Louis?” Harry started at her, not exactly sure how to answer that question, and Lottie elaborated a bit. “I mean…you must have a family somewhere, and I’m sure they want to see you, but you seem pretty content on staying with us. Not that I mind, because you’re super cool, but…would you really leave your family for good to stay with him?”

            “That’s a…big question…” Harry managed, thinking hard about this. He honestly hadn’t given his family much thought since Louis had taken him in. He liked it here. He loved Louis, though he wasn’t sure he was prepared to admit it quite yet, and he would do anything for Louis. But leaving his family? He hadn’t considered how they must be feeling about all this.

            “Or…or are you going to take Louis away?” Lottie’s voice came out soft and scared and Harry felt his heart clench. He knew that Louis would want to stay with him, whatever he decided to do, but he never wanted to make Louis choose between himself and his own family.

            “Lottie…I would never want to force Louis to make such a decision. As for my family, I’m sure they miss me, and I miss them, but for now I’m comfortable here. I like it here, I like having the option of coming home and falling asleep with a smile on my face next to someone that I care about. But if I went back, I would let Louis choose. I wouldn’t ask him to follow me. I couldn’t do that to any of you.”

            Lottie kept a steady eye on Harry for a few moments, taking in what he had said, and then her mouth opened again. “Okay…okay. I just…I love seeing Louis this happy and I don’t want anything to ruin that, but I’d miss my big brother.”

            Harry touched her arm in a comforting manner. “I won’t take him away from you. I promise. I know it might seem like I’m the big brother stealer because of all the time we spend together, but we just…enjoy each other’s company is all.”

            “Do you think you and my brother are soulmates?” Lottie’s next question hit Harry like a truck, and his mind was a whirl of thoughts and emotions as he tried to keep his face calm. He knew he was blushing, and he hid behind his hair, hoping that that would be enough to disguise his totally obvious face. He really couldn’t answer that question, it was too soon, too many thoughts were running wild in his mind and he didn’t want to say anything stupid. He nibbled on his lip, tugging nervously at his curls, when he noticed that a strand of the curl he had in his fingers was a bright blue. He gulped, his fears definitely confirmed, and that’s when the door leading from the beach to the main room opened and Louis walked in, his hair damp and his face flushed with happiness.

***

***

            Walking home from a day full of swimming was actually a bit weird. My legs felt oddly wobbly, but that was probably because I hadn’t used them all day. I was just excited to get back and take Harry out and show him what I could do, even if he didn’t want to get in the water. I walked up the beach and came in through the back door. Both Lottie and Harry looked up immediately, and I could tell that I had definitely interrupted something. Harry’s face was flushed and his eyes were wide with something like fear, and he was petting Jamie, who was curled in his lap, purring. Lottie looked disappointed as she got up to give me a hug. I hugged her back, of course, but my eyes were on Harry. He kept his gaze level with mine for a few seconds more before looking away and standing up and stretching.

            “M’gonna go lay down…feel a bit off,” Harry mumbled, and before I could ask him what was wrong, he disappeared, off to my room. I looked towards Lottie for an explanation, but she just shrugged.

            “I was just asking him questions about you and he got all…like that. Shy and distant. Like he didn’t want to talk about it.”

            My chest tightened at her words. What if the fears in the back of my mind were right? What if Harry didn’t love me the way I loved him? What if he wanted to go home and didn’t want me to go with him?

            Shoving those thoughts and the urge to go after Harry out of my mind, I walked to the kitchen and poured myself some water, calling up the local pizza place to get something for dinner. I was too tired to cook, and my parents wouldn’t be home for hours.

***

            By the time the pizza arrived an hour later, Harry still hadn’t emerged from my room. Lottie confirmed that he hadn’t eaten anything all day, and with that, I pulled two slices onto a plate, grabbed a bottle of water, and headed towards my room.

            I reached my closed door and found it locked. I knocked, trying not to drop anything. “Harry? Harry, it’s me. Can I come in?” There was a shuffling sound and the lock clicked, but the door didn’t open. Curious and slightly worried, I opened the door and stepped inside the room.

            Harry’s things were all folded neatly next to the window, his shoes lined up next to them, instead of in the drawers and in the closet like they had been when I had left this morning. I looked around and saw Harry sitting on my bed, his head down and his hair covering his face, and his shoulders shaking slightly. I immediately put the plate and bottle down and hurried to his side, brushing his hair back so I could see his face properly.

            His eyes were red and swollen, a clear sign that he’d been crying, and his lips were bitten red and raw. He looked away from me quickly, trying to hide, but I turned his face back to me, looking him right in the eye.

            “Hazza, what’s wrong?”

“I…I can’t…I’m so sorry…” he choked out, swallowing hard as a few more tears leaked onto his cheeks. I wiped them away with my thumbs, cradling his face in my hands.

            “Harry, please, you’re scaring me. Just talk to me. I need to know what’s wrong so I can help.” I begged, but Harry shook his head, pulling away from me.

            “You can’t help, Lou. It’s all my fault.”

            “What’s your fault? Harry, I’m really confused, please help me understand. You didn’t do anything wrong, I don’t know what you could be talking about…hey, shh, don’t cry…” I pulled Harry into my arms as a sob was ripped from his throat and he clutched onto my shirt, tears soaking through the thin material. I held him as close as I could, running my fingers through his hair and rubbing his back, trying to help him in any way that I could.

            “I…I’ll show you, okay?” Harry mumbled into my shirt, and he sat up, wiping his face and sniffling. Without another word, he stripped down to his shorts, grabbed a blanket, and walked down the hallway towards the door to the beach. I followed quickly, almost running to catch up with him and taking off my shirt as I went, knowing where Harry was heading.

The sun was going down, dipping behind the horizon as we reached the edge of the water. Harry lay the blanket out and waded into the water. I followed, touching his shoulder gently, and he turned to look at me, his face sad. He handed me his flower and dove forward into the water, his fins flipping above the water. I tucked the flower behind my own ear, not knowing where else to put it, and a moment later, he came up again, brushing the wet hair out of his eyes and reaching for my hand. I swam out to him, treading water, and took his hand. He pulled me closer and then under the water completely. Remembering that I was still human, I held my breath, looking at Harry through my blurry underwater vision. Harry touched my forehead with his finger and suddenly, I could breathe and see clearly under the water, despite still having my legs. I wanted to reach out and touch him, because with his new tattoo lining the top of his tail, he looked absolutely gorgeous, but he seemed to want to stay away from me, and I respected that. I almost asked him how he did the thing with the breathing and the forehead touching, but I didn’t have time, because Harry was speaking to me.

            “You remember the scale I gave you? The one that fell off when I scraped the rock?” I nodded. How could I forget it, I had been using it just a few hours ago, but I didn’t think now was the time to be mentioning that, so I just waited, because I knew Harry had more to say. “Well, we grow our scales back pretty quickly, but I…it grew back…just look…” Harry sighed, lifting his tail in the water to show me. He pointed at a spot on his tail, and I just stared. Where a patch of green scales had been, the scales were now a bright, vibrant blue, a color that Harry certainly hadn’t had when I’d first met him. Something nudged at the back of my mind, but I really couldn’t remember…it was something about scales changing colors, I knew that much. I looked back up at Harry, confused, and his eyes filled with tears.

            “Lou…mermaids’ scales turn colors when they find their soulmate and I…and these scales are the color of your eyes.”

            I gaped at him, the water tasting salty against my tongue, but I barely noticed. The whole story came rushing back to me, and it felt like ages ago and completely unreal, but here I was, and Harry was floating before me, clearly trying not to cry as he let his words sink in. He thought that I was his soulmate. He truly believed that, and he had the scales to prove it. He didn’t control that, fate did. Fate was literally saying we were meant to be, and I had no idea how to comprehend this information.

            “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to fall for you so hard, I just…you’re so sweet to me and you spoke to me when no one else would and you didn’t get scared when you saw what I was, and y-you haven’t tried to cut me up or anything, and I…I love you, Lou. I love you so much and I’m so sorry.”

            My brain suddenly went into razor sharp focus as his words reached my ears. He loved me. Harry Styles loved me. And I was in love with him, more than I had ever been with anyone. I needed to say something.

            “I’ll…I can just go…m’sorry…” Harry sobbed, and he started to swim away, but I grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down to me.

            “Harry, I love you too. God, I’ve been waiting so long to say it, but I thought it would scare you off. But I am so in love with you. Have been since the moment I met you. Please don’t leave, Haz, I love you.”

            Harry’s face was frozen in surprise, and then he pulled me against him, kissing me hard. His tail wrapped around my legs, holding me to him, and I felt his tongue on my lips. I parted my lips and he licked carefully inside my mouth, tasting like salt and lavender and Harry, and we stayed there, wrapped in each other’s arms as the sun set above the water.

            I finally pulled away, feeling the chill of the water, and grabbed Harry’s hand, swimming upward. Our faces broke the surface of the water and Harry touched my forehead again, and I plucked the flower from behind my ear, tucking it into Harry’s curls and looping a hand around his waist as his legs came back. We made it to shore and plopped down on the blanket, holding each other close in the aftermath of admitting our love for each other.

            “Is this why you packed? You thought I’d kick you out?” I asked, and Harry nodded.

            “I…I thought maybe you wouldn’t want me anymore, or that I was forcing something on you that you weren’t ready for, and I got really scared. I never want to lose you, Lou. You mean too much to me.”

            I felt a lump growing in my throat at Harry’s words. He was too good to me, I didn’t deserve someone like him, someone who cared this much. I leaned in and kissed him moving my lips gently with his, and we just kissed for a bit, the warm breeze blowing through our hair as the sky darkened above us. Harry brushed his hands through my hair, which he didn’t do very often, but I secretly loved it. His hand suddenly froze and he touched a lock of my hair, his eyes wide.

            “Lou…since when is your hair pink?”

            “What?” I asked, and Harry pulled at a strand of my hair. Of course, it wasn’t long enough for me to see, so I pulled my phone out of my pocket (thank god for water protective cases), and looked in the front camera with the light on. Harry was right. A thick strand of my usually brown hair had now turned a light pink. I knew what I was thinking right away, and I was sure Harry was thinking along the same lines, because he was looking at his own hair, pulling at the strands of green and pink and purple, and, I noticed for the first time, a lone curl of blue.

            “Lou, have you been…swimming?” Harry asked, and he didn’t have to say it out loud for me to know what he was implying. I blushed and nodded.

            “I went today. I didn’t actually have to work, I just wanted to work on my swimming skills and stuff…wanted to impress you.” I said, hiding my face, but Harry was grinning like an idiot, and he pulled me in close, nuzzling my neck.

            “You’re so fucking perfect, Lou. I love you.”

            “I love you too, baby,” I whispered into his hair, and he pulled back enough so he could kiss me again. The sand under the blanket moved under our bodies and I couldn’t bring myself to pull away from Harry. Looks like it was a night on the beach for me and the most beautiful boy.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos or comments if you'd like, I'd really appreciate the feedback.


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